MDAPW3: MDA-based development of blockchain-enabled decentralized applications

Blockchain-based smart contracts have garnered significant attention due to their potential to automate and enforce agreements in a decentralized and transparent manner. This abstract provides an overview of the implementation and security considerations associated with blockchain-based smart contracts. Smart contracts are self-executing contracts with predefined rules encoded on a blockchain, enabling automated and tamper-proof execution of contractual agreements. The implementation of smart contracts involves writing code in programming languages such as Solidity and deploying them on blockchain platforms such as Ethereum. However, the adoption of smart contracts introduces various security challenges, including vulnerabilities in the code, malicious actors, and regulatory compliance issues. This abstract discusses key security considerations for smart contracts, such as code auditing, formal verification, secure coding practices, and regulatory compliance. Additionally, it explores emerging trends and techniques for enhancing the security and resilience of blockchain-based smart contracts. By addressing these security considerations, blockchain-based smart contracts can realize their potential to revolutionize industries by enabling trustless and efficient execution of agreements while maintaining the integrity and confidentiality of transactions.

Blockchain-based smart contracts have received a lot of attention recently. Smart contracts are increasingly being used in a variety of fields, and are touted for their ability to reduce costs, ensure contract fulfillment, and provide high security. This has led to the view that smart contracts can replace existing contracts. However, there is also a negative view that smart contracts are unlikely to replace existing contracts and will only be used in limited areas, citing the limitations of the code itself, the existence of bugs, and the possibility of hacking. These conflicting views reflect the fact that the smart contract debate is far from settled and many issues, such as the legal nature of smart contracts and the legal issues that have arisen or may arise from smart contracts, are still unclear. In this article, we will discuss the legal regulation of smart contracts, among other issues related to smart contracts. Recently, several countries, including some states in the U.S., have moved to incorporate smart contracts into their legal systems, which seems to be a way to provide a legal basis for the future use of smart contracts and the development of related technologies, as well as to regulate them through legislation. The need for legal regulation of smart contracts can be seen in the need to introduce the concept of cryptocurrencies or smart contracts, and to prepare for the possibility that transactions using smart contracts will be activated in the near future. The direction of legal regulation can be broadly categorized into enacting a basic law on smart contracts in the form of a single law, and amending individual laws related to smart contracts. This article opts for the enactment of a basic law on smart contracts in the form of a single law, and discusses factors to be considered when enacting a so-called basic law on smart contracts, as well as what a specific law should look like.

Bridging the gap: Predictive contracts in blockchain-achieving recalibration for industrial networks

Service systems' business processes show the existence of mutual interaction between users. Running a particular business subdomain requires the role of each user. This role is in line with the concept contained in blockchain-based smart contracts. However, determining the subdomains that require smart contract coding is challenging in developing business processes that will run on the blockchain. We aim to determine the service-oriented business process (in the case of marketplace service) and the subdomain of the business process that requires smart contract coding. This article is essential because it shows how developing IT services without a smart contract differs from developing IT services with a smart contract. The main differences between developing services that need smart contracts and those that do not are that certain process can be run automatically and the record of activity in blockchain cannot be changed by anyone (tamper-proof). We outlined methods for designing marketplace business processes and defined subdomains to be encoded into smart contract code. After reviewing the three marketplace platforms, we determined eight subdomains of the marketplace business process. Two subdomains require smart contract coding from eight, namely the payment and complaint subdomains.

The rise of blockchain technology has set the stage for groundbreaking decentralized applications and smart contracts. Recently, there's been a surge in interest regarding the integration of social media data into blockchain-based smart contracts, promising significant transformations across sectors like finance, marketing, and governance. Essentially, this shift involves tapping into the vast pool of data generated by social media interactions immutable smart contracts. By capitalizing on blockchain transparency, security, and decentralization, this integration aims to streamline processes, foster trust, and unlock new avenues for automation and efficiency. This paper delves into the process of gathering data from YouTube, a prominent video-sharing platform, via its API for use in an integrating data into smart contract. YouTube boasts an extensive repository of data ripe for various applications. The research utilizes Node.js, Solidity, and YouTube API technologies. Furthermore, it explores incorporating this gathered information into a smart contract, enriching features within a decentralized ecosystem. The incorporation of social media data into a smart contract offers fresh prospects for data-driven decision-making and content verification, contributing to the advancement of blockchain-based applications and services. The process of converting data into smart contracts is divided into several main stages. The article also provides the results of execution time testing for transferring data from social media into smart contracts. The conducted tests showed a significant reduction in execution time thanks to the utilization of the YouTube API along with Node.js and Solidity technologies. This approach to integrating data into smart contracts can be applied for further analysis and content verification, fostering the development of blockchain-based applications and services. Keywords: cryptocurrency, smart contract, Solidity, social media, decentralization, data analysis.

PurposeCross border trade, involving different business environments between the sellers’ and buyers’ countries, may result in conflicts because of asymmetry in the information structure across the borders. The International Chambers of Commerce (ICC) has laid down ground rules on terms of shipment and payment, enabling harmonization and standardization of business process, and fixing of responsibilities for international trade. The international commercial (INCO) terms by ICC define the duties, obligations and cost borne by the exporter and the importer. An exporter’s uncertainty looms once the goods cross his/her border. Therefore, there is a need for a smart contract that is secured, transparent, legitimate and trustworthy. The authors propose a blockchain technology-based smart global contract (BTGC) framework for international trade.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper, the authors develop the framework based on value chain analysis (VCA) of international trade and an ontology-driven-blockchain-design approach. The paper analyzes the sequence of activities in the value chain of global trade, the terms of the contract, the data structure templates, the validation rules and the points-of-failure, and proposes the smart contract blockchain structure.FindingsThis paper proposes the BTGC framework considering the INCO terms 2020; it provides the validation rules and the probability of failures; and identifies the elements that cause the halting of contracts and conditions of creation of side blockchains. The framework also includes the governance of the BTGC system.Research limitations/implicationsThe proposed framework not only has implications at the firm level as it automates and secures a global sale contract but also is expected to harmonize the global-trade process as well. The developers may use the attributes, data structure templates and the rules identified in this paper for developing the GC software. Future research may consider using case analysis, class diagrams and the related steps for developing the blockchain software.Originality/valueThis paper proposes a complete value chain of global contract (GC) concerning exports, an ontology of GC and a blockchain-based smart-contract framework based on global standards. Besides, it specifies the elements of fraud (such as the non-integration of side chains) and uncertainty, i.e. the probability of failures. Such a framework will harmonize the global-trade process and build an international standards for smart GC based on blockchain technology (ISSGCBT), which is not yet done.

Blockchain based smart contracts are computer programs that encode an agreement between non-trusting participants. Smart contracts are executed on a blockchain system if specified conditions are met, without the need of a trusted third party. Blockchains and smart contracts have received increasing and booming attention in recent years, also in academic circles. We carry out a systematic mapping study of all peer-reviewed technology-oriented research in smart contracts. Our interest is twofold, namely to provide a survey of the scientific literature and to identify academic research trends and uptake. We only focus on peer-reviewed scientific publications, in order to identify how academic researchers have taken up smart contract technologies and established scientific outputs. We obtained all research papers from the main scientific databases, and using the systematic mapping method arrived at 188 relevant papers. We classified these papers into six categories, namely, security, privacy, software engineering, application, performance & scalability and other smart contract related topics. We found that the majority of the papers falls into the applications (about 64%) and software engineering (21%) categories. Compared to our 2017 survey [1], we observe that the number of relevant articles has increased about eightfold and shifted considerably towards applications of smart contracts.

In the world of technology, change is the only constant. As soon as people start adapting to a new invention, another innovation starts paving its way into people's lives. Each change in technology brings in new and improved devices. Old devices are replaced and abandoned. Such Electronic and Electrical Equipments (EEEs) that are discarded by users are termed as e-waste. Management of e-waste includes proper collection, segregation and recycling of discarded devices in an environment friendly manner. The volume of EEEs that is produced throughout the world, has led governments in various countries to create strict policies, to ensure efficient disposal of the generated e-waste. The Indian government also upgraded its E-Waste Management (EWM) laws in 2016 and 2018. These laws are a step towards environment friendly disposal of e-waste but their compliance is still at a nascent stage. Even today, e-waste collection and recycling in India is largely dominated by the unorganized sector, which makes the enforcement of such laws very difficult. In this paper, we propose a novel approach for EWM using blockchain based smart contracts. Blockchain is the technology that enables us to write smart contracts. Smart contracts are self-executing computer codes that take specified actions when certain conditions are met in the real world. EWM using smart contracts will bring more coordination among producers, importers, retailers and recyclers of EEEs. It will enable the government to regulate e-waste collection and recycling. It will also reduce the imbalance between the organized and unorganized sectors which will lead to increased transparency throughout the process.

This paper delves into the challenges faced by universities in preserving students' evaluations and academic records securely. These records are crucial not only for validating academic qualifications but also for analyzing and implementing meaningful reforms. However, the prevalence of corruption and fraudulent activities in university results necessitates robust security measures to prevent tampering or deletion of such sensitive data. The paper explores the potential of using blockchain technology and smart contracts to address this security and trust issues in managing students' evaluations. By leveraging the inherent characteristics of blockchain, such as immutability, transparency, and decentralization, smart contracts offer a secure and reliable solution for data management. Smart contracts act as autonomous agreements, facilitating direct interaction between exam administrators and students without intermediaries, thereby reducing vulnerabilities associated with third-party involvement. Implementing blockchain-based smart contracts brings various benefits, including cost and timesaving. Students maintain full control over their data thanks to emerging technologies like blockchain. Data stored in blockchain networks is organized into linked blocks, and validators ensure the authenticity and integrity of each block through cryptographic hash codes. Furthermore, the decentralized nature of blockchain ensures that data is distributed across the network, minimizing the risk of single points of failure and enhancing overall system security. With consensus mechanisms and mathematical operations, blockchain-based smart contracts provide transparent records of completed operations, often referred to as decentralized ledgers. In conclusion, the paper emphasizes the potential of blockchain-based smart contracts in strengthening information security and trust in university systems. This innovative technology can safeguard student evaluations from tampering, fraudulent activities, and unauthorized access. By adopting such solutions, universities can not only enhance data security but also streamline administrative processes and foster a culture of trust within academic institutions. As blockchain gains wider acceptance, exploring these transformative solutions becomes essential for ensuring a more successful educational environment. Keywords: Students' evaluations, Academic records, Data management, Blockchain technology, Smart contracts, Information security, Trust, Fraud prevention, Tamper-proof, Immutability, Transparency, Decentralization, Third-party intermediaries, Time and financial efficiency, Data ownership Cryptographic hash codes, Consensus mechanisms

In this dissertation, we address the problem of vagueness in traditional legal contracts by presenting novel methodologies that aid in the paradigm shift from traditional legal contracts to smart contracts. We discuss key enabling technologies that assist in converting the traditional natural language legal contract, which is full of vague words, phrases, and sentences to the blockchain-based precise smart contract, including metrics evaluation during our conversion experiment. To address the challenge of this contract-transformation process, we propose four novel proof-of-concept approaches that take vagueness and different possible interpretations into significant consideration, where we experiment with popular vendors' existing vague legal contracts. We show through experiments that our proposed methodologies are able to study the degree of vagueness in every interpretation and demonstrate which vendor's translated-smart contract can be more accurate, optimized, and have a lesser degree of vagueness. We also incorporated the method of fuzzy logic inside the blockchain-based smart contract, to successfully model the semantics of linguistic expressions. Our experiments and results show that the smart contract with the higher degrees of truth can be very complex technically but more accurate at the same time. By using fuzzy logic inside a smart contract, it becomes easier to solve the problem of contractual ambiguities as well as expedite the process of claiming compensation when implemented in a blockchain-based smart contract.

A blockchain-based smart contract is a computer script, stored in the blockchain network and enforced automatically based on predetermined terms, decentralised verification as well as fully accessible real-time records to all blockchain users. Smart contract innovation, with a high level of transparency and a lower risk of operational errors, offers a novel approach for more effectively implementing Shariah contracts in Islamic financial institutions. However, the immutable smart contract principle, which disallows the amendment or deletion of the code deployed in the blockchain, appears incompatible with the iḥsān criterion implemented in Islamic financial institutions’ product offerings that allow operations and terms adjustment under certain conditions, including payment rescheduling and contract restructuring facilities in financing products. This study aims to look into the concept of blockchain-based smart contracts, as well as issue related to immutable smart contract and viable solutions that align with Shariah and Islamic banking operations. The study utilised the library research to achieve the objective by referring to related literature. The qualitative data were then descriptively analysed using the conceptual content analysis method. The study’s results found that, in order to comply with the characteristics of iḥsān to implement Shariah contracts using blockchain-based smart contract technology, the programmer should first write flexible code rather than fixed code, and the upgradable proxy contract should be well applied in the creation of the smart contract code.

This article presents a review of the application of blockchain and blockchain-based smart contracts in the chemical and related industries. We introduce the basic concepts of blockchain and smart contracts and explain how some of their features are enabled. We review several typical or novel applications of blockchain and smart contract technologies and their enabling concepts and underlying technologies. We classify the selected literature into five categories and discuss their motivations and technical designs. We recognize that the trend of decentralization creates a need to use blockchain and smart contracts to implement trust and distributed control mechanisms. We also speculate on future applications of blockchain and smart contracts. We believe that, in the future, blockchains with different consensus mechanisms will be studied and applied to achieve more efficient and practical decentralized systems. Also, blockchain-based smart contracts will be more widely applied to enhance autonomous distributed controls in decentralized systems.

Regulating smart contracts: Legal revolution or simply evolution?

Building Information Modeling (BIM) provides an excellent opportunity to digitally document and visually display construction projects’ information throughout their whole lifecycle. Another recent technology that fosters the digital transformation of the construction sector is blockchain-based smart contract. In combination with BIM models, such smart contract can be used for delivery, acceptance, and payment (DAP) process automation in the construction industry. The DAP process can be modelled by using smart contracts and securely stored via a blockchain. Since smart contracts are programming codes, for stakeholders it is difficult to understand what is exactly written in them. Therefore, it is necessary to visualize the state and executed transactions of the deployed smart contracts. In this paper, a framework is highlighted to record and visualize the status of the DAP processes by combining BIM with smart contracts using the Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) to develop a smart contract system. With the help of suitable visualization concepts, the individual transactions of the blockchain can be displayed in a comprehensible way. The feasibility of the framework is presented through an illustrative implementation of the smart contract system. The proposed framework can help project participants better understand the current state of a smart contract.

With the evolution of technology, blockchain a swiftly impending phenomenon i.e., "decentralized computing” is observed. The emergence of Smart Contracts (SC) has resulted in advancements in the application of blockchain technology. The Ethereum network’s computing capabilities and functionalities are founded on the basis of SC. A smart contract is a self-executing agreement between buyer and seller with the terms of the settlement between them, written directly as lines of code, existing across a distributed decentralized blockchain network. It is a decentralized software that runs on a blockchain autonomously, consistently, and publicly. Conversely, due to the complex semantics of fundamental domain-specific languages and their testability, constructing reliable and secure SC can be extremely difficult. SC might contain some vulnerabilities. Security vulnerabilities can originate from financial tribulations; there are a number of notorious events that specify blockchain SC could comprise numerous code-security vulnerabilities. Security and privacy of blockchain-based SC are very important, we must first identify their vulnerabilities before implementing them widely. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to conduct a comprehensive experimental evaluation of two current security testing tools: Remix solidity static analysis plugin and Solium which are used for static analysis of SC. We have conducted an empirical analysis of SC for finding tangible and factual evidence, controlled by the scientific approach. The methodology’s first step is to gather all of the Ethereum SC and store them in a repository. The next step is to use the Remix solidity static analysis plugin and Solium to perform vulnerability assessments. The last step is to analyze the result of both tools and evaluate them on the basis of accuracy and effectiveness. The goal of this empirical analysis is to evaluate the two FOSS tools: Remix solidity static analysis plugin and Solium on the basis of accuracy and effectiveness. Some research questions were considered to reach the stated goal: What automated tools and frameworks are proposed in supporting the state-of-the-art empirical approach to SC vulnerability detection? How accurate are security analysis tools? And which tool has more accuracy rate? How effectively security analysis tools are detecting vulnerabilities in SC? And which is the most effective security analysis tool? We investigated the effectiveness and accuracy of security code analysis tools on Ethereum by testing them on a random sample of vulnerable contracts. The results indicate that the tools have significant discrepancies when it comes to certain security characteristics. In terms of effectiveness and accuracy, the Remix plugin outperformed and beat the other tool.