A Blockchain-Based Distributed Code Hosting Platform
摘要
GitHub is the world’s largest code hosting platform based on the version control system Git. Its server is centralized currently. Blockchain is a new computing mode that integrates distributed data storage, P2P network, cryptography, and so on. It offers tamper resistance and traceability. In order to solve the single point failure problem of the centralized GitHub server and to support flexible incentive mechanism for contributors, this paper proposes and implements a distributed code hosting system based on the blockchain. This system uses GitLab (the open source version of GitHub) to build a distributed code hosting platform, uses Hyperledger Fabric to build the underlying blockchain network, and integrates them through Hook tools in GitLab server. The experimental results demonstrate that the system’s core functionality works as expected. In particular, the blockchain platform records the contribution of each developer, so that incentive mechanism could be designed to motivate developers for better contribution.