ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on various software and platforms to study the applications of blockchain, including but not limited to healthcare, government, public sector, finance and banking, insider threat, supply chain, smart contract, mobile health, etc. The need for blockchain application is to improve data security through linking transactions using cryptography and improving transparency and integrity. Typical transactions are done using a centralized client server infrastructure, where computers commonly referred to as nodes are connected to one central authority, whereas blockchain applications are a decentralized or distributed ledger with no single point of failure and no central authority, and all nodes are connected, making it a secure application. Blockchain has become a viable solution for recording transactions in a growing list called blocks, which are linked and protected using cryptography. However, with the ever-increasing demand for blockchain professionals and developers, there are few hands-on labs/modules available for training current IT students, the future developer professionals. The objective of this chapter is to develop a framework, including a series of hands-on labs, that would fit individual professional’s need for blockchain. This set of hands-on labs will help trainees to find their current level and propose an appropriate level of the hands-on lab to students of different backgrounds. This approach will help students learn and comprehend the fundamental blockchain concepts systematically.
