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About issuing verifiable documents using Ethereum

Overview of components​

Overview of components

Document store smart contract​

The document store is a smart contract deployed onto the Ethereum blockchain. When an OA document is issued, a proof of the issuance is stored onto the Ethereum blockchain through the smart contract. The smart contract is used to provide a globally consistent record for anyone to query a given OA document's issuance status.

DNS records​

A domain is required to issue an OA document. A DNS record must be inserted to the DNS to assert the identity of the OA document creator.

Verifiable document file​

A Verifiable Document File is also known as the OA document. Machine-readable data of the OA document is stored in a .json file. In addition to the data, these .json files also contain information such as:

  • claim of issuer's identity
  • document rendering information
  • document store smart contract

Decentralized renderer​

The decentralized renderer gives the OA document a human-readable look. It is essentially a website which will take an OA document data as input and display the document in a web view. Using this feature, any user can style their document without submitting code change to another party.