4 ms·

all domains are temporary content-addressable hashes are forever

by dym_sh 5y ago

hobofan 5y ago
Content-addressable hashes are also "temporary" if you have only a single party storing the files (and that party goes away), which would be the case with most of the Show HNs.
- capableweb 5y ago
  Nitpicky maybe, but the content-addressable hash is indeed forever. What's not forever (that you call "temporary") is what that hash is pointing to/is generated from. But I'm sure you knew this, just offering a clarification for the ones that might not.
  - frazbin 5y ago
    But if the live mirrors go away and the hash method or chunking method change (and they do) then the hash is permanently useless.. so having the thing the hash was generated from isn't enough to make the hash live again. But that's just IPFS... we really deserve a better content address system.
    - capableweb 5y ago
      > But if the live mirrors go away and the hash method or chunking method change (and they do) then the hash is permanently useless No, it might be permanently useless but it could also become useful in the future. Not only could you ask around archives if they have that hash, some random peer might also appear with the content in the future. Although unlikely. Although infinitely better than location-addressing that will for sure break at one point. > so having the thing the hash was generated from isn't enough to make the hash live again Of course, if it was that easy it wouldn't be a hash :) > But that's just IPFS... we really deserve a better content address system I was not considering IPFS, just thinking about content-addressing in general.
    - hobofan 5y ago
      One thing that I think is quite cool in that realm is that if ZKP (Zero-Knowledge Proofs) advance a bit further you could easily proof that two hashes come from the same input without having to have access to the input. With that migrations of hash functions, and in practice providing alternative download locations from multiple content-addressable storage systems would be possible.
      - wizzwizz4 5y ago
        I don't think this would be easy.
  - TedDoesntTalk 5y ago
    Maybe host the content on archive.org to begin with? Still not indefinitely permanent, but it might last 100 years or until archive.org shuts down.
  - sundarurfriend 5y ago
    In that sense, domains are also forever. What changes is its ownership and (hence) what it is pointing to.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
capableweb 5y ago
> all domains are temporary That's even intended and part of the specification as a "Expires at" field!

all domains are temporary content-addressable hashes are forever

by dym_sh 5y ago

all domains are temporary content-addressable hashes are forever

Content-addressable hashes are also "temporary" if you have only a single party storing the files (and that party goes away), which would be the case with most of the Show HNs.

capableweb 5y ago
Nitpicky maybe, but the content-addressable hash is indeed forever. What's not forever (that you call "temporary") is what that hash is pointing to/is generated from. But I'm sure you knew this, just offering a clarification for the ones that might not.
- frazbin 5y ago
  But if the live mirrors go away and the hash method or chunking method change (and they do) then the hash is permanently useless.. so having the thing the hash was generated from isn't enough to make the hash live again. But that's just IPFS... we really deserve a better content address system.
  - capableweb 5y ago
    > But if the live mirrors go away and the hash method or chunking method change (and they do) then the hash is permanently useless No, it might be permanently useless but it could also become useful in the future. Not only could you ask around archives if they have that hash, some random peer might also appear with the content in the future. Although unlikely. Although infinitely better than location-addressing that will for sure break at one point. > so having the thing the hash was generated from isn't enough to make the hash live again Of course, if it was that easy it wouldn't be a hash :) > But that's just IPFS... we really deserve a better content address system I was not considering IPFS, just thinking about content-addressing in general.
  - hobofan 5y ago
    One thing that I think is quite cool in that realm is that if ZKP (Zero-Knowledge Proofs) advance a bit further you could easily proof that two hashes come from the same input without having to have access to the input. With that migrations of hash functions, and in practice providing alternative download locations from multiple content-addressable storage systems would be possible.
    - wizzwizz4 5y ago
      I don't think this would be easy.
- TedDoesntTalk 5y ago
  Maybe host the content on archive.org to begin with? Still not indefinitely permanent, but it might last 100 years or until archive.org shuts down.
- sundarurfriend 5y ago
  In that sense, domains are also forever. What changes is its ownership and (hence) what it is pointing to.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

capableweb 5y ago

> all domains are temporary That's even intended and part of the specification as a "Expires at" field!