IBM Wants to Keep Tabs of Milestones
Zac Thompson
US technology company International Business Machines (IBM) is soliciting the help of blockchain, enabling developers to record and classify coding updates and milestones, public records show.
IBM filed its application at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to utilize the distributed shared ledger in creating “a secure and robust approach to track and to append information related to collaborative coding for the purpose of credit, reward, and dispute resolution, and for other purposes.”
Essentially, the application, dubbed as “Blockchain For Program Code Credit and Programmer Contribution in a Collective,” intends to utilize the technology to track the significant gains made by coders as they collaborate on certain projects. The proposed system will aid in giving the appropriate credit to some programmers.
The firm noted in its patent filing that producing a computer program code using the blockchain technology entails the plurality of computer codes forming a distributed network. Each node communicates directly with other nodes. This is operated by a user through a common smart contract.
“Code transactions and parameters associated with a stakeholder are compiled into a chain of programmer transaction blockchain blocks. The chain can be considered a chronicle of a piece of software, …and the code “status” path through its recent history or complete history can be tracked, along with its various programmers, though the lifetime and versions of the code, various history parameters, etc.,” the company said.
“Once the new block has been calculated, it can be appended to the stakeholder’s application software history blockchain, as described above. The block may be updated in response to many triggers, such as, when a programmer selects a button on a graphical user interface (GUI) on a computer display showing a code editor to add code, when a unit test has been completed, when a code integration is completed, when an assigned work item is closed, and so forth,” it added.
This is not the first time that IBM sought to secure a regulatory approval to maximize the potential of blockchain in its business. In April, the company wanted to patent a system to ensure a web of connected devices can facilitate blockchain-driven smart contracts in a safe and effective manner.
Blockchain configuration, IBM explained in its application, noted a huge amount of information is related to financial transactions. The increasing popularity of this system heightens the desire to integrate more features on the blockchain technology.
IBM had said “one example method of operation may include determining a proof-of-work via a device and using a predefined set of nonce values when determining the proof-of-work, storing the proof-of-work on a blockchain, and broadcasting the proof-of-work as a broadcast message.”
Another example might be a non-transitory computer readable medium designed to keep instructions “that when executed causes a processor to perform one or more of determining a proof-of-work via a device.”
IBM unveiled in 2015 its proof-of-concept, Autonomous Decentralized Peer-to-Peer Telemetry (ADEPT), that was developed in partnership with Samsung. Both companies chose BitTorrent (file sharing), Ethereum (smart contracts), and TeleHash (peer-to-peer messaging) to complete their work.
“Applying the blockchain concept to the world of [Internet of Things] offers fascinating possibilities. Right from the time a product completes final assembly, it can be registered by the manufacturer into a universal blockchain representing its beginning of life. Once sold, a dealer or end customer can register it to a regional blockchain (a community, city or state),” the IBM explained.
For the longest time, the challenge of connecting Internet of Things (IoT) devices using blockchain has attracted numerous entities and developers.
