With each new technology coming out claiming to be “the next generation of XYZ”, it can be hard to keep track of what actually is the next generation of XYZ. In this case, that XYZ is blockchain, and that technology is Polkadot.

随着每一项新技术的问世都是“下一代XYZ”，很难跟踪到底什么是下一代XYZ。 在这种情况下，XYZ是区块链，而技术是Polkadot 。

With so many blockchains being spun up saying “they are the best, etc, etc” it’s important to look at the problems they solve — the only reason to use any tool. If you don’t understand the problems, you can’t understand the tool.

这么多的区块链都在旋转，说“它们是最好的，等等，等等”，重要的是要查看它们解决的问题，这是使用任何工具的唯一原因。 如果您不了解问题，则无法理解该工具。

With so many blockchains and platforms that you can build on, you’ll be asking “why should I build with blockchain X?” in the same way you should ask “Why should we use Python? or mongoDB? or JavaScript?”

拥有如此多可构建的区块链和平台，您会问“为什么要用区块链X构建？” 您应该以同样的方式问“为什么要使用Python？ 还是mongoDB？ 还是JavaScript？”

That’s what blockchains are. They’re technologies.

那就是区块链。 他们是技术。

Now let’s see what Polkadot brings to the table and why you should build on it.

现在，让我们看看Polkadot带来了什么以及为什么要在此基础上进行构建。

介绍 (Introduction)

When I talk about blockchain technology, I aim to talk about the impact it can have. That’s what blockchain does — it solves problems. I’ve written about the problems blockchain solves before, and I won’t go into those here. Instead, we will go into the specific problems of blockchain that Polkadot solves, and how it does it. Namely:

当我谈论区块链技术时，我的目的是谈论它可能产生的影响。 那就是区块链所做的—它解决了问题。 我之前已经写过关于区块链解决的问题的文章，在此不再赘述。 取而代之的是，我们将探讨Polkadot解决的区块链的具体问题以及它的工作方式。 即：

• Speed and scalability速度和可扩展性
• Blockchain specialization and interoperability区块链专业化和互操作性
• Upgradeability and governance可升级性和治理

Now they each have two categories each — that’s on purpose, you’ll soon see why.

现在它们每个都有两个类别-这是有目的的，您很快就会知道原因。

Here’s a simple explanation of what Polkadot is:

这是什么是Polkadot的简单说明：

One of a number of large round dots repeated to form a regular pattern on fabric.

多个大圆点之一重复在织物上形成规则图案。

My comedy should be tokenized and sold since it’s worth more than BTC. But on a more serious note, Polkadot is actually an apt name for the system.

我的喜剧应该被标记并出售，因为它的价值超过BTC。 但更重要的是，Polkadot实际上是该系统的恰当名称。

A better simple explainer would be:

更好的简单解释器是：

Polkadot is a blockchain of blockchains. Solving scalability, speed, and allows for more complex and sophisticated verifiable governance.

Polkadot是区块链的区块链。 解决可伸缩性，速度并允许更复杂和复杂的可验证治理。

Emphasis on the “Blockchain of Blockchains”part.

重点介绍“区块链的区块链”部分。

速度和可扩展性 (Speed and Scalability)

当前的问题(The current problem)

Many blockchains are slow and can get clogged up. BTC, for example, can only process seven transactions per second (TPS), while credit cards can handle about 24,000. Ethereum 1.0 isn’t much better at (very roughly) 15 TPS, which can lead to massive gas spike costs. When $UNI went live and everyone was scrambling to get their airdrops, gas costs went up to 800 gwei. This low TPS and high gas fees make them really difficult to scale to mass adoption.

许多区块链很慢，可能会被阻塞。 例如，BTC每秒只能处理七笔交易(TPS)，而信用卡可以处理约24,000笔交易。 以太坊1.0在(大约)15 TPS时并不好得多，这可能会导致大量的汽油峰值成本。 当$ UNI投入使用并且每个人都在争先恐后地获得空投时，汽油成本高达800 gwei 。 这样低的TPS和高昂的汽油费使它们很难扩展为大规模采用。

解决方案 (The solution)

Polkadot is a heterogenous sharded blockchain. You’ll hear this a lot. In plain English it means “a blockchain of different blockchains”. At the center is the main chain that all the other blockchains connect to — this is known as the “Relay Chain”. Connected to the relay chain are the parachains. Parachains don’t have to be blockchains, although, for simplicity, we’re going to ignore that.

Polkadot是一个异构分片区块链。 您会听到很多。 用简单的英语来说，它的意思是“一个由不同区块链组成的区块链”。 中心是所有其他区块链连接的主链，这就是“中继链”。 连接到中继链的是平行链。 平行链不必一定是区块链，尽管为了简单起见，我们将忽略它。

At the end of the day, this simple diagram is what makes it so scalable and fast. With multiple blockchains/parachains/shards, you can process transactions in parallel, as opposed to synchronously. This allows for much higher throughput and allows the system to scale much better. Any time you want to get larger, you can just add another chain. Or (in the future of Polkadot 2.0) you can add a relay chain to the relay chain (known as nested relay chains) and have a blockchain of blockchain of blockchains. These parachains are highly incentivized to stay on the platform since they get the pooled security of all these blockchains.

归根结底，这个简单的图表使其变得如此可扩展且快速。 使用多个区块链/副链/分片，您可以并行处理交易，而不是同步处理。 这允许更高的吞吐量，并允许系统更好地扩展。 每当您想变大时，都可以添加另一个链。 或者(在Polkadot 2.0的未来)中，您可以在中继链中添加中继链(称为嵌套中继链)，并拥有一个由区块链组成的区块链。 这些平行链非常受鼓励留在平台上，因为它们获得了所有这些区块链的集中安全性。

Hopefully, you get the message. Now, why should you build on Polkadot? Here’s the first reason: Building on Polkadot means you have a fast scalable blockchain.

希望您能收到消息。 现在，为什么要在Polkadot上构建？ 这是第一个原因：建立在Polkadot上意味着您拥有快速可扩展的区块链。

区块链专业化和互操作性 (Blockchain Specialization and Interoperability)

当前的问题(The current problem)

Everyone’s talking about the “ETH Killer” or the “BTC Killer” — thinking the world will boil down to a “one blockchain rules them all”. ETH and BTC maximalists talk about how the other coin is (insert obscenity here). Maybe they need to relax and take the polkadot-colored pill.

每个人都在谈论“ ETH杀手”或“ BTC杀手”，以为世界将归结为“一个区块链统治着所有人”。 ETH和BTC的最大论者谈论另一枚硬币的状态(在此处插入淫秽内容)。 也许他们需要放松并服用波卡多色的药丸。

Each of these blockchains is designed differently, but they can’t speak to each other because blockchains are designed to be self-contained (so far). This is the issue of interoperability or cross chain communication. Since blockchains can’t communicate, we can’t do things like sell BTC on the ETH network, or add BTC to an ETH smart contract. We’ve seen projects like WBTC come alive and other layer-two solutions, but they don’t have the same security that the blockchain itself has, and every new functionality you have to build this custom system for.

每个区块链的设计都不同，但由于区块链被设计为自包含的(到目前为止)，所以它们彼此之间无法通话。 这是互操作性或跨链通信的问题。 由于区块链无法通信，因此我们无法做类似在ETH网络上出售BTC或将BTC添加到ETH智能合约的事情。 我们已经看到像WBTC这样的项目以及其他第二层解决方案已经投入使用，但是它们不具有区块链本身所具有的相同安全性，以及构建此自定义系统所需的所有新功能。

解决方案 (The solution)

Polkadot has the mentality that each blockchain is good at something. Polkadot is the kindergarten teacher saying that all the kids are equally special in their own way. Except the “kids” are massive blockchains. BTC is great at being digital gold, ETH is great at smart contracts, Avalanche is great for finance, and so on. As we’ve seen, more and more blockchains are coming out as being good at something else, each type has its own economy and its own services.

Polkadot的心态是每个区块链都擅长某事。 幼儿园老师Polkadot说，所有的孩子在他们自己的方式上都是一样的特殊。 除了“孩子”，还有大量的区块链。 BTC擅长成为数字黄金，ETH擅长智能合约，Avalanche擅长金融，依此类推。 如我们所见，越来越多的区块链在其他方面都表现出色，每种类型都有自己的经济和服务。

The Polkadot mindset is that there is no one blockchain rules them all, and communication between them all is easy and built-in due to the fact that they’re all connected. So this solves interoperability.

Polkadot的心态是，没有一个区块链可以完全控制它们，并且由于它们都是相互连接的事实，因此它们之间的通信既简单又内置。 因此，这解决了互操作性。

Polkadot even takes an extra step, providing a framework for building blockchains. This is what’s known as substrate — and it’s a “Ruby on rails” for building blockchains. You can get your own customized blockchain up and running in as little as an hour. Substrate makes it easy to ensure all the pieces of your new chain can connect easily. They also make them easy to build, as you can pick from a box of features (called pallets), and almost like a lego construction, just add the pallets you like and voila, a customized blockchain.

Polkadot甚至采取了额外的步骤，为构建区块链提供了框架。 这是什么作为衬底-这是一个“Ruby on Rails的”建筑blockchains。 您可以在短短一个小时内启动并运行自己的自定义区块链。 使用底物可以轻松确保新链中的所有零件都可以轻松连接。 它们还使它们易于构建，因为您可以从一盒特征(称为货盘)中进行选择，并且几乎就像乐高积木一样，只需添加您喜欢的货盘和voila (一个定制的区块链)即可。

They can also connect to any other blockchain as well with token bridges, as the network is designed to bring on blockchains like Ethereum and Bitcoin. Yes, Polkadot has planned for support for Ethereum and Bitcoin! Now, why should you build on Polkadot? Building on Polkadot doesn’t mean you’re giving up your platforms, building on Polkadot means you are allowing platforms to combine. You can also make your own blockchain much faster.

他们还可以通过令牌桥连接到任何其他区块链，因为该网络旨在引入以太坊和比特币等区块链。 是的，Polkadot已计划支持以太坊和比特币！ 现在，为什么要在Polkadot上构建？ 在Polkadot上构建并不意味着您放弃平台，在Polkadot上构建意味着您允许平台组合。 您也可以使自己的blockchain快得多。

可升级性和治理 (Upgradeability and Governance)

当前的问题(The current problem)

Upgrading blockchains is hard. Deciding how to proceed when something goes very wrong on-chain, is also hard.

升级区块链非常困难。 确定在链上出现非常错误的情况时如何继续进行也很困难。

We’ve seen this already with the BTC blocksize controversy that has spun out more than one fork of BTC, or even the ETH hard fork. Both were tricky ways to navigate how to govern the next phases of the blockchain development plan. Choosing what’s needed in order for a change to happen is hard if hard rules are built-in. Also, when one of these changes has to be made, it often forces engineers and node operators to do some work just to stay on top of what the current version of the platform is. This forking business is hard. Updating the core software without breaking everything they’ve created on-chain is hard.

我们已经在BTC区块大小争议中看到了这一点，该争议引发了不止一个BTC分支，甚至是ETH硬分支。 两者都是导航如何控制区块链开发计划下一阶段的棘手方法。 如果内置了硬性规则，则很难选择要进行更改所需的内容。 同样，当必须进行这些更改之一时，它通常会迫使工程师和节点操作员做一些工作，只是为了掌握平台当前版本的最新信息。 这个分叉的生意很难。 在不破坏他们在链上创建的所有内容的情况下更新核心软件非常困难。

If a new patch comes out, you better update your node, get left behind, or fork. But what if this wasn’t the case?

如果有新补丁发布，则最好更新节点，或落后或叉。 但是，如果不是这种情况怎么办？

解决方案 (The solution)

Polkadot solves this with two things:

Polkadot用两件事解决了这个问题：

• A well explained voting and governance system.解释清楚的投票和治理系统。
• The code that governs the system is part of the system.控制系统的代码是系统的一部分。

When the Polkadot code is updated based on their voting system (which we will get to soon), the code is part of the blockchain itself — so no hard forking needs to happen. The polkadot network reads itself in order to know how to run itself. So to make an update to the core code, you just push a transaction like you’d deploy a smart contract, or send someone money (after thorough voting). This way you never have to hard fork, nodes don’t have to update, you can just keep going. This makes upgrading the software much easier.

当基于他们的投票系统更新Polkadot代码时(我们将很快解决)，该代码便是区块链本身的一部分-因此，无需进行硬分叉。 波尔卡圆点网络会进行自我读取，以便知道如何运行。 因此，要更新核心代码，只需像部署智能合约那样推动交易，或向某人付款(经过彻底投票)。 这样，您就不必硬分叉，节点也不必更新，您可以继续前进。 这使软件升级变得更加容易。

Let’s talk about how governing works, but bear in mind: With a vote, this can all change. Part of what makes Polkadot so revolutionary is this ability to change itself, both as a technology and as a political entity. I won’t focus so much on that second part, but it’s something to keep in mind.

让我们谈论治理的工作原理，但要记住：通过投票，这一切都可以改变。 使Polkadot如此具有革命性的部分原因在于，它既可以作为技术也可以作为政治实体来改变自身。 在第二部分中，我不会特别关注，但是要记住这一点。

Now, why should you build on Polkadot? You now have a decentralized framework for a government and easy upgradeability with no forks.

现在，为什么要在Polkadot上构建？ 您现在有了一个分散的政府框架，并且无需分叉即可轻松升级。

一切如何运作 (How It All Works)

共识(Consensus)

When something happens on-chain, we need a way for all the nodes to agree — this is the consensus protocol. The Polkadot network is a nominated proof of stake (NPoS) with hybrid BABE/GRANDPA consensus. Now, what does that mean? Well, that’s some math stuff. Basically, its proof of stake, and how the blockchain is chosen to be in it’s “final” state is pretty smart.

当链上发生某些事情时，我们需要一种使所有节点都同意的方法-这是共识协议。 Polkadot网络是具有混合BABE / GRANDPA共识的提名权益证明(NPoS)。 这是什么意思？ 好吧，那是一些数学的东西。 基本上，它的股权证明以及如何选择处于“最终”状态的区块链都是非常明智的。

Anyway, as I was saying, it’s nominated proof of stake (I’ll get to the nominated part soon). In a blockchain like ETH 1 or BTC, to get the next block you have to “mine” them (know as Proof of Work (PoW)). This is when the blockchain nodes solve a difficult math problem in order to validate that the transactions are good, but it’s a race to solve the math problem. A proof of stake blockchain doesn’t have that.

无论如何，正如我所说的，这是提名的股份证明(我将很快进入提名的部分)。 在像ETH 1或BTC这样的区块链中，要获得下一个区块，您必须“挖掘”它们(称为工作量证明(PoW))。 这是区块链节点解决困难的数学问题以验证交易是否良好的时候，但这是解决数学问题的竞赛。 股权证明没有区块链。

Instead, Polkadot nodes stake DOT token. Stakers are known as “validators” (nominators also stake, but we will get their later), and they do two things:

相反，Polkadot节点放样DOT令牌。 斯蒂克人被称为“验证人”(提名人也很重要，但是稍后我们会再介绍)，他们做两件事：

• Validate the state transition proofs of the parachains.验证平行链的状态转换证明。
• Produce relay blocks based on the validity of those state transition proofs.根据这些状态转换证明的有效性产生中继块。

Validators are chosen at pseudo-random moments, based on how much DOT they staked. When they honestly report on the state transition of the assigned parachain, they get rewarded with DOT. When the other nodes check up on what a node reported (called the attester), if they answered dishonestly they are slashed some of the DOT they staked. Fisherman can also report bad validators. Fisherman can be collators, validators, or anything else.

验证器是在伪随机时刻根据其押注的DOT量来选择的。 当他们诚实地报告所分配的平行链的状态转变时，他们将获得DOT奖励。 当其他节点检查一个节点报告的内容(称为证明者)时，如果它们回答不诚实，则将它们放样的一些DOT削减了。 渔民还可以举报不良验证者。 渔夫可以是收集者，验证者或其他任何人。

The transition states are given to them by the “collators”. Collators are just special nodes of the parachain that send data to the validators. It’s important to note that validators are not just dumping every transaction ever onto the Polkadot relay chain, just the state transition proofs. The relay chain essentially knows nothing about what’s going on in the parachains, all they know is whether or not their current state is valid.

过渡状态由“收集器”赋予它们。 收集者只是将数据发送到验证者的平行链的特殊节点。 重要的是要注意，验证器不仅仅是将所有交易都倾销到Polkadot中继链上，还只是状态转换证明。 中继链本质上对并行链中发生的事情一无所知，他们所知道的只是其当前状态是否有效。

Validators are part of the relay chain and not part of the parachains. Validators get shuffled around pseudo-randomly, so they can never be attached to one blockchain.

验证者是中继链的一部分，而不是副链的一部分。 验证程序会伪随机地拖移，因此它们永远不会附加到一个区块链上。

管治(Governance)

So there is voting for who validates the blockchain. Then there is voting for how to upgrade the Polkadot system. There are three branches of government in Polkadot:

因此，有投票支持谁验证区块链。 然后投票表决如何升级Polkadot系统。 波尔卡多共有三个政府部门：

• Referendum proposals公民投票提案
• The council理事会
• Technical committee技术委员会

公民投票提案(Referendum proposals)

Remember how I said that Polkadot reads itself to update itself? Polkadot has a function called set_code which rewrites its code. Whether or not this function is called is based on whether or not a referendum passes. A referendum is just a proposed upgrade to the system. Anyone can submit a referendum. You can view more on how these are proposed here.

还记得我说过Polkadot会自我读取以进行自我更新吗？ Polkadot具有一个名为set_code的函数，它将重写其代码。 是否调用此函数取决于是否通过了全民公决。 公民投票只是对系统的建议升级。 任何人都可以提交全民投票。 您可以在此处查看有关这些建议的更多信息。

Proposals get passed when they pass the specific voting metrics associated with them. Depending on who suggests the referendum determines how many users it takes to pass them. You can see the table below which shows the Entity that proposes the referendum and the Metric which defines how many users need to vote to pass it.

当提案通过与提案相关联的特定投票指标时，提案就会通过。 根据谁的建议，全民投票决定了通过多少用户。 您可以看到下表，该表显示了提议全民投票的Entity和Metric ，该Metric定义了需要投票通过的用户数量。

理事会 (The council)

The small council of 13–25 members is in charge of:

由13至25名成员组成的小型理事会负责：

• Making referendums and emergency referendums进行全民投票和紧急公投
• Cancelling referendums取消公投
• Appointing the technical committee任命技术委员会
• Having more weight in referendum voting在全民投票中更具分量

Council elections are handled by the same Phragmén election process that selects validators from the available pool based on nominations. These are the shortest terms of all government, lasting just one day. Emergency referendums take voting priority.

理事会的选举由同一Phragmén选举程序处理，该过程根据提名从可用池中选择验证人。 这些是所有政府中最短的期限，仅持续一天。 紧急全民投票优先。

技术委员会 (The technical committee)

The technical committee is like a mini council, but they can also make emergency referendums. They’re composed of the teams that have successfully implemented or specified either a Polkadot/Kusama runtime or Polkadot Host.

技术委员会就像一个小型理事会，但他们也可以进行紧急公投。 他们由成功实施或指定Polkadot / Kusama运行时或Polkadot主机的团队组成。

Here’s a much nicer image that they use for the system:

这是他们用于系统的更好的图像：

在Polkadot上建造 (Building on Polkadot)

First off Kusama != Polkadot

首先是草间弥生!= Polkadot

And if you don’t know what != means, this section might not be for you!

如果您不知道!=意味着什么，那么本节可能不适合您！

Kusama is a form of pre-production to Polkadot — the money on the chain is real. It’s a great place to get started building something quick. You can build your own blockchains there and connect it to the Kusama network with substrate. You can also check out projects like Moonbeam which allow you to write smart contacts, and deploy them through remix.

Kusama是Polkadot的预生产形式-链上的钱是真实的。 这是开始快速构建内容的好地方。 您可以在那里建立自己的区块链，并将其连接到具有基材的草间网络。 您还可以检出诸如Moonbeam之类的项目，这些项目使您可以编写智能联系人，并通过混音进行部署。

团队 (The Team)

There is a lot to cover in this article and I’m doing my best to keep it short and sweet. The final reason this is something to get really excited about is that the team is filled with superstars!

本文涉及很多内容，我正在尽力使它简短而有趣。 最终令这家公司感到非常兴奋的最终原因是该团队挤满了超级巨星！

It was co-founded by Gavin Wood (former CTO and co-founder of Ethereum), Robert Habermeier (Theil fellow), and Peter Czaban (Web3 Tech dir).

它是由Gavin Wood (以太坊的前CTO和联合创始人)，Robert Habermeier(Theil研究员)和Peter Czaban(Web3 Tech目录)共同创立的。

Now the last bit is a little bit of terminology that tripped me up my first time around — there are a few organizations involved here.

现在，最后一点是一些术语，使我第一次不知所措-这里涉及一些组织。

重要术语/组 (Important Terminology/Groups)

• Web3 Foundation — This foundation was created to cultivate blockchain into the world. Polkadot is their flagship application.Web3基金会-创建该基金会是为了将区块链培育到世界各地。 Polkadot是其旗舰应用程序。
• Parity — Founded by Gavin (before Polkadot), Parity has been commissioned to build out Polkadot.奇偶校验(Parity)-由盖文(Gavin)创建(前波尔卡多(Pokkadot))，奇偶校验已被委托建立波尔卡多(Polkadot)。
• Polkadot — Like Ethereum, this is the blockchain of blockchainsPolkadot —与以太坊一样，这是区块链的区块链
• Kusama — The preproduction (but still real money) version of PolkadotKusama-Polkadot的预生产(但仍是真钱)版本
• Westend — The testnet of Polkadot and KusamaWestend-Polkadot和Kusama的测试网

That’s it!

而已！

Let me know if you learned something here! If you want to check out the Polkadot documentation to build your own blockchain, give it a whirl!

让我知道您是否在这里学到了一些东西！ 如果您想查看Polkadot文档以构建自己的区块链，请旋转一下！