Anyone who wants to advance from a novice to a professional blockchain user must be able to read blockchain data and transactions. It can assist you in learning vital information about cryptocurrency. Blockchains happily record every transaction on an open and viewable public ledger. Although all data is easily accessible, if you don’t have the proper tools, it could be difficult to find and comprehend accurate information.
Block explorers can help with that. Etherscan is the most widely used block explorer for Ethereum, the biggest dApp blockchain. Anyone who knows how Etherscan operates can navigate the explorers for practically any blockchain. Many blockchain investigators and on-chain sleuths on the Ethereum network use this technology. But what is Etherscan, how does it work, and how is it used?
To know the answers, let’s get going with this article.
What is Etherscan?
An independent block explorer built on Ethereum is called Etherscan. The Etherscan software keeps track of blockchain transactions on the Ethereum network. The app then shows the results in a format akin to a search engine. If their transferred monies have yet to appear in their wallets, this feature may soothe customers’ minds by enabling them to search for transaction information on the Ethereum blockchain.
Users must connect Etherscan to an operational cryptocurrency wallet for it to track activity on an Ethereum wallet address.
With the help of this free tool, you may look through Ethereum’s history and see any earlier wallet, smart contract, NFT, or other stuff. Similarly, there are products for different blockchains. This implies that even if you can access your wallet and previous transactions, you must visit your cryptocurrency exchange or wallet provider to use Ether or enter a transaction.
How does Etherscan work?
Since Etherscan is based on the Ethereum blockchain, it has access to all the data kept there. Blockchain explorers, Web3 libraries, and decentralized apps (dApps) are some of the combined technologies that provide this data.
This is divided into three sections.
Obtaining information
Etherscan depends upon an application programming interface (API), a collection of programming instructions through which software can communicate with one another. In the case of Etherscan, the API facilitates communication between the block explorer and the Ethereum blockchain. This can be compared to a phone book. The phone book is the API, a list of names and numbers. You locate the phone number of the person you wish to call by looking up their name in the phone book.
Using the Etherscan API, you can locate information about a block or transaction. The foundation of the Etherscan API is the JSON-RPC 2.0 specification. It communicates with the Ethereum blockchain via JavaScript Object Notation or JSON. On the Ethereum network, every transaction is broadcast to every node in the network. The nodes then add the transaction to the blockchain and verify it. Thanks to the Etherscan API, the block explorer can retrieve this information from the Ethereum blockchain. This data includes the transaction hash, timestamp, payment amount, and gas utilized.
The block explorer can also access other data through the API, like the price of gas and the current block height.
2. Keeping information
The block explorer must store the data after obtaining it from the Ethereum blockchain. Etherscan keeps the data in a relational database, sometimes called an “SQL database,” where information is kept in tables. Every table has a distinct structure, and every table’s contents are connected to those of other tables. Because of this relationship, the block explorer can quickly retrieve and display the data.
3. Generating data
Making the data is the last stage. Here, the block explorer pulls information from the Ethereum blockchain and displays it in a format that is easily understandable for people. To do this, Etherscan utilizes several tools and technologies, including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Block Explorer uses HTML as a page structure. JavaScript is used to communicate with the user, whereas CSS is used to style the pages.
The Usage of The Etherscan
Using Etherscan is best done through their website. To fulfill your standards, you need a specific prerequisite. Users can search by address, block, token, transaction hash (transaction ID), address, or across the ENS using Etherscan. You can also browse recent transactions and learn more about the current status of the Ethereum network on the homepage.
Additionally, the web application offers the ability to create an account. With a free account, you can make notes, get notifications, build watch lists to monitor your wallets and accounts, develop a public profile, and get alerts.
A search feature for particular Ethereum address transaction histories is available on the website. Etherscan uses blockchain wallet addresses that are all made up of random characters and digits. Once you have a basic grasp of blockchain assets and transactions, it’s easy to understand what you see on Etherscan.
1. Smart Contracts
The software underlying NFTs, smart contracts, decentralized applications, and decentralized finance is available on the blockchain in the same manner as other Ethereum transactions.
2. Wallet Tracking
You can click on a wallet address from another page or type in the address to get the wallet details page. The address tracking functionality allows you to see all of the past transactions and current holdings for a particular Bitcoin wallet.
3. Seeing Ether Transactions
The transaction detail page shows the amount, transaction fees, number of confirmations, sending and receiving addresses, and more. This can be used to trace an asset’s history or confirm that a transaction is still in progress.
Conclusion
One reliable source of Ethereum blockchain data is Etherscan. Etherscan, real-time Ethereum blockchain monitoring, and gas prices can all be used to analyze the smart contract code. Lastly, Etherscan is free and open source; you can use all its capabilities without registering. It’s an excellent starting point for consumers who wish to become familiar with the blockchain’s features.
Also read: What is a Crypto Security Token and How Does it Work?
