Concept: Chain

Purpose: To provide an auditable and validatable log of all posted items, using hashes and timestamps to ensure integrity and prevent tampering.

State: A chain is a linked list of items, where each item contains the following fields:

Actions:

Operational Principle:

Example:

A new item is posted to the system. The hash of the item, the timestamp, and the checksum are calculated and stored in the item. The item is then added to the end of the chain.

To verify the authenticity of an item, the hash of the item is calculated and compared to the hash of the item in the chain. The timestamp and checksum are also verified. If the hash, timestamp, and checksum all match, then the item is authentic.

Benefits of the chain concept: