MathChain - Blockchain Visualization Application

A Streamlit-based educational blockchain implementation demonstrating core concepts including block structure, Merkle trees, and state transitions.

Features

• Block Traversal: View and edit blocks to demonstrate immutability
• Merkle Tree Visualization: Interactive visualization of transaction verification
• Turing System: State-based computation demonstration
• Transaction Management: Create and manage transactions and blocks

File Structure

MathChain/
├── src/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── core/                    
│   │   ├── __init__.py
│   │   ├── transaction.py       
│   │   ├── block.py            
│   │   └── blockchain.py        
│   ├── utils/                
│   │   ├── __init__.py
│   │   └── merkle_tree.py       
│   └── ui/                   
│       ├── __init__.py
│       ├── block_traversal.py   
│       ├── merkle_visualization.py
│       └── turing_system.py   
├── app.py                    
├── requirements.txt            
└── README.md                    

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/cherry-aggarwal/MathChain.git
cd MathChain

2. Install dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

Usage

Run the application:

streamlit run app.py

The application will open in your browser at http://localhost:8501

Architecture

Core Components

• Transaction: Represents a transfer between two parties
• Block: Contains multiple transactions and links to previous block
• Blockchain: Manages the chain of blocks and validates integrity

Utilities

• Merkle Tree: Computes Merkle roots and generates visualization data

UI Components

• Block Traversal: Allows viewing and editing blocks to demonstrate how changes break the chain
• Merkle Visualization: Shows how transactions are verified using Merkle trees
• Turing System: Demonstrates state transitions and account balances

Key Concepts Demonstrated

1. Immutability: Editing a transaction breaks the chain by invalidating hashes
2. Merkle Trees: Efficient transaction verification
3. State Transitions: Deterministic computation of account balances
4. Hash Linking: Each block references the previous block's hash

Development

The codebase follows clean architecture principles:

• Separation of Concerns: Core logic separated from UI
• Modularity: Each component has a single responsibility
• Type Hints: All functions include type annotations
• Documentation: Comprehensive docstrings

License

MIT License