The Address Is The Substance
The Address Is The Substance
Q: Where is the data stored? A: Where its hash dictates.
Q: How is the data overwritten? A: It is not. To alter the data is to alter the hash, and to alter the hash is to address a completely different location. The original block remains untouched.
Q: How are duplicates removed? A: They are never written. If two blocks hold the exact same data, they produce the exact same twenty-byte hash. They naturally resolve to the same address.
Q: What secures the integrity? A: The address itself. If a block corrupts, its contents will no longer mathematically yield the hash that located it. The corruption announces itself by breaking the mapping.
Q: What is the address? A: The address is the substance of the data, digested into twenty bytes. In Venti, you do not choose where a thing goes. The thing decides where it belongs by simply being what it is.