Browse by category
26 terms
- AllegraThe hard fork on December 16, 2020 that added token locking capabilities, a prerequisite for smart contract functionality.Network & Protocol
- AlonzoThe hard fork on September 12, 2021 that brought smart contract functionality to Cardano through Plutus.Network & Protocol
- AmaruA Rust implementation of the Cardano node, maintained by PRAGMA as an alternative to the canonical Haskell node.Network & Protocol
- BashoThe fourth era of Cardano development, focused on scaling and performance optimization.Network & Protocol
- BlockBeginnerA unit of data containing a batch of transactions that is added to the blockchain.Network & Protocol
- BridgeBeginnerA protocol that connects Cardano to another blockchain so assets or messages can move between them; typically a pair of contracts that lock value on one chain and mint a representation on the other.Network & Protocol
- ByronThe first era of Cardano development, establishing the foundation of the network.Network & Protocol
- Eclipse AttackAdvancedA network attack where a node is isolated from honest peers and connected only to attacker-controlled nodes.Network & Protocol
- GoguenThe third era of Cardano development, bringing smart contracts (Alonzo) and native tokens (Mary).Network & Protocol
- Hard ForkBeginnerA network upgrade that changes the blockchain's rules in a way older software versions no longer understand; every node has to update before the change takes effect.Network & Protocol
- Hard Fork CombinatorCardano's mechanism for stitching protocol era transitions onto a single live chain without splitting it.Network & Protocol
- HydraA Layer 2 scaling solution for Cardano using state channels (Hydra Heads) to enable fast, low-cost transactions off the main chain.Network & Protocol
- Hydra HeadAn off-chain micro-ledger between a small group of participants in the Hydra Layer 2 protocol.Network & Protocol
- JörmungandrA node implementation written in Rust, originally developed for the Incentivized Testnet in late 2019.Network & Protocol
- Layer 1BeginnerThe base blockchain protocol itself, where transactions are finalized and the consensus rules are enforced; Cardano is a Layer 1.Network & Protocol
- Layer 2BeginnerProtocols built on top of a Layer 1 blockchain to improve scalability or add functionality.Network & Protocol
- MainnetBeginnerThe production Cardano network where real ada transactions occur, as opposed to testnets used for development and testing.Network & Protocol
- MempoolThe pool of pending transactions a Cardano node holds locally before they are included in a block.Network & Protocol
- MithrilA stake-based threshold multi-signature protocol that lets Cardano nodes trust a blockchain snapshot without re-validating the whole chain.Network & Protocol
- RollbackWhen a Cardano node reverts the most recent blocks because the network has converged on a different fork.Network & Protocol
- ShelleyThe second era of Cardano development, introducing decentralization and stake pools.Network & Protocol
- SidechainsIndependent blockchains wired to Cardano through a bridge, so projects can experiment with their own rules (different VM, faster finality, custom tokenomics) while settling back to Cardano when they need its security.Network & Protocol
- Soft ForkBeginnerA protocol upgrade that is backward-compatible, so nodes running older software can still follow the chain; they just don't see the new feature.Network & Protocol
- TestnetBeginnerA test network for developers to experiment without using real ada.Network & Protocol
- TPSTransactions per second, a popular but limited metric for blockchain throughput that ignores transaction complexity, finality, and parallel execution.Network & Protocol
- VasilThe hard fork on September 22, 2022 that improved smart contract efficiency and network performance.Network & Protocol