Blockchain Key-Value Storage via Bidirectional Index Mapping

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Solution Overview

Problem

Blockchain systems face difficulties in traversing and managing multiple key-value pairs efficiently, particularly when users have multiple accounts, making it challenging to retrieve, update, or delete key-value pairs effectively.

Innovation Solution

A method and device for providing traversable key-value data storage on a blockchain system by generating index-to-key and key-to-index pairs, allowing for efficient traversal, retrieval, updating, and deletion of key-value pairs through a bidirectional mapping mechanism.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Quantity of substance

If multiple key-value pairs are stored on the blockchain system, then data storage capacity is improved, but traversal difficulty increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvenumber of key-value pairsVSAvoidtraversal difficulty
Core Design Contradiction:
Quantity of substanceVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces an index as an intermediary between the blockchain storage system and the traversal operation. The index contains key-to-index and index-to-key mappings that enable efficient traversal without directly querying the blockchain for each key-value pair. This intermediary layer resolves the contradiction by maintaining simple traversal operations while supporting multiple key-value pairs through the index's organizational structure.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Productivity

If index-to-key and key-to-index pairs are generated, then traversal efficiency is improved, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetraversal efficiencyVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the data storage and traversal functions into distinct components: the blockchain storage system maintains the actual key-value pairs, while a separate index structure maintains the key-to-index and index-to-key mappings. This segmentation allows traversal efficiency to be improved through the specialized index structure without significantly increasing the complexity of the core blockchain system, as the index operates as a separate but coordinated component.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentEP3676787B1Methods and devices for providing traversable key-value data storage on blockchain
Publication Date: 2022.10.12 ADVANCED NEW TECHNOLOGIES CO LTD
  • EP3676787B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3676787B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3676787B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

Disclosed herein are methods, devices, and apparatuses, including computer programs stored on computer-readable media, for providing traversable key-value data storage. One of the methods includes: receiving a first user-provided key-value pair for recordation on a storage system, the first user-provided key-value pair comprising a first user-provided key and a first user-provided value; assigning a first index to the first user-provided key-value pair; generating a first index-to-key key-value pair, the first index-to-key key-value pair having a key comprising the first index and a value comprising the first user-provided key; generating a first key-to-index key-value pair, the first key-to-index key-value pair having a key comprising the first user-provided key and a value comprising the first index; and storing the first user-provided key-value pair, the first index-to-key key-value pair, and the first key-to-index key-value pair on the storage system.