#+title: IPFS protocol
#+date: "2021-05-13 16:41:26 +08:00"
#+date_modified: "2021-05-13 16:41:36 +08:00"
#+language: en


A project that aims to power the next generation of the web (Web 3.0).
The core component is a protocol (also called IPFS protocol) that aims to replace HTTP.

In order to understand what sets IPFS apart, we need to discuss a bit on the current way of delivering content.

Currently, 99% of the web today are delivered through HTTP.
It is primarily delivered through *location-based addressing*.
That is, in order to get what the client needs, they need to send a request to the server that has that content wherever they are.
[fn:: Yes, content delivery networks (CDN) exist but we'll disregard it for now since it is not baked in on the protocol.]
Problems can come through if the server is located in another country or continent, even, which will result in slower requests.
Furthermore, it will create a bottleneck for that server especially if it's a popular site like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.

IPFS addresses this problem by settling into a different approach: *content-based addressing*.
In this protocol, when the client requests for the content, it will crawl through the network searching for the node that has the content.

For content-based addressing, they make content hashes as the central component for that as a way to identify the content.
But since cryptography is not perfect and can always be broken, content IDs can come in multiple format.