In computer programming, a fork refers to the creation of a new process by duplicating an existing one. The new process, known as the "child process," runs concurrently with the original process, known as the "parent process," and shares its resources (such as memory and file descriptors). The fork system call is commonly used in Unix-like operating systems to initiate multi-tasking and parallel processing activities.
I made an introductory post on the term 'Fork' and how it affects crypto exchanges when it is agreed upon by miners and developers to undergo.
I became much interested in the term after reading several comments on the slow transaction speed and network congestion that crypto currencies, mostly Bitcoin, has been experiencing lately.
This forking can be one scenario that can be looked upon in such times like this where we experience network congestion and high transaction fees.
Aside from the lightning network that was suggested by Bitcoin talkers, if push comes to shove with charts showing a steady decline, in speed of service, another Bitcoin talker suggested transactions speed be increased per second, knowing fully well a fork is what can be implemented to ease the situation. We see this example of a hard-fork with Bitcoins', Bitcoin Cash in 2017.
The network split was mainly due to a disagreement in how to increase the transactions per second to accommodate for demand.
Short-lived forks are due to the difficulty of reaching fast consensus in a distributed system. Whereas permanent forks (in the sense of protocol changes) have been used to add new features to a blockchain, they can also be used to reverse the effects of hacking such as the case with Ethereum and Ethereum Classic, or avert catastrophic bugs on a blockchain as was the case with the bitcoin fork on 6 August 2010.
Visit source link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fork_(blockchain)
Should a Fork be the next resort to accommodate the pressing transactions demand, here are some best practices one can do to qualify for and claim a fork.
Remember the wallet you used, and your private keys before the snapshot block.
1. You would have to transfer your funds/coins to a new address after the snapshot, do not forget to retain the private key of the old address.
2. Go to your stores and download the new wallet once it is live.
3. Go ahead and import the private key from the address you had crypto on before the fork, to the new forked coin's wallet.
Easy peasy!
Visit source link:
https://cryptocurrencyfacts.com/how-to-safely-claim-any-cryptocurrency-fork/#:~:text=Best%20Practices%20for%20Qualifying%20For%20and%20Claiming%20a%20Fork&text=Move%20your%20funds%20to%20a%20new%20address%20after%20the%20snapshot,the%20new%20forked%20coin%27s%20wallet.