Take a fork! The name itself has a strange ring to it. Still, alas, it is as it is. The term "fork" is used in technology to denote something that diverges or cuts off from an existing piece of software or code. However, the term has increasingly broadened beyond what it was originally intended for.
To fork means to modify, vary, or diverge from something that already exists, either to update and leave the old stuff behind or to start something completely new based on the rules that already exist.
When it comes to Blockchain forking, the term normally retains the majority of its definition but has split into two portions (doing exactly what it means).
Forking on blockchain
On the Blockchain, forking modifies the current rules and replaces them with a new set of pre-determined rules. The proposed rules could have the approval of all, some, or none of the network participants. Forks are laws that must be accepted by all of the nodes on a network. If the node chooses not to take the changes in rules into account, it will have a number of consequences.
In the short time it has been in use, the word Fork has caused a lot of upheaval in the industry. A fork has been used to characterise a wide range of divergences in opinion, communication, and other forms of divergence. The word fork has slowly but steadily developed into many forms, each of which is further classified.
In general, there are two kinds of forks: soft forks and hard forks.
Soft fork
Any modification to a blockchain protocol that prevents complete nodes from enforcing the soft fork rules is known as a soft fork. To put it another way, soft fork implies that if a new set of rules is implemented that does not require a majority vote, they can be applied by all nodes or not. A block that is considered valid before the soft fork is activated will continue to be considered valid by others after the soft fork is activated. New regulations have been proposed.
Backward compatibility is normally a function of a Soft Fork. For example, if an old node chooses to create and validate a block, all other nodes on the network, new and old, will accept it as true.
Hard fork
A hard fork is an update of an existing blockchain that is not backward compatible. This means that all network nodes on a specific blockchain must either comply with the fork and upgrade their protocol software, or form a new Blockchain organisation using the same outdated protocol. The Bitcoin vs. Bitcoin Cash hard forks, the Ethereum vs. Ethereum Classic hard fork, the Ethereum Istanbul Hard Fork, and others are among the most well-known hard forks.
Since any modifications made using nodes that run on the old set of rules would be deemed invalid, a Hard Fork is referred to as a Non-backwards compatible fork. To put it another way, if an old node creates and verifies a block, it will not be considered legitimate. After a hard fork is done, any modifications made during the fork cannot be reversed or erased.
Hard forks are further classified into two categories:
Contentious Hard Fork: A contentious hard fork is a non-reversible and non-backward compatible form of hard fork. It normally occurs when there is a conflict in the group. The group who opposes forks the chain and uses their own chain to make the changes they want. A Chain Split is normally the product of a contentious Hard Fork.
Non-Contentious Hard Fork: A non-contentious hard fork is a non-reversible and non-backward compatible form of hard fork. The difference is that a non-contentious hard fork is used to update the protocol, and it requires consensus from all of the network's nodes.
The Blockchain Ecosystem's Well-Known Forks
Hard Fork BTC/BCH – A Disputed Hard Fork
Bitcoin Cash is a cryptocurrency that was forked from Bitcoin in August 2017. The size of blocks in Bitcoin Cash is increased, allowing for more transactions to be processed.
Bitcoin cash was created by bitcoin miners and developers who were equally worried about the cryptocurrency's future and potential to scale. The block size is the main distinction between BTC and BCH. Bitcoin has a 1 MB block size limit, while Bitcoin Cash has an 8 MB block size limit, which was later increased to 32 MB.
Ethereum and Ethereum Classic Hard Fork – A contentious Hard Fork
The Ethereum Organization founded the Decentralized Autonomous Organization (aka the DAO) to serve as a decentralised venture capital fund for decentralised crypto projects. The idea was to create a decentralised stateless body with no board of directors or employees, instead relying on private investors as its primary actors. Within 28 days of its launch, it had raised over $150 million in ether through a crowd-sale.
Shortly after that, attackers took advantage of a flaw in DAO's code and stole more than $50 million from the organization's funds.
This caused a stir in the crypto community, especially among Ethereum community members, among DAO investors. The reason for the upheaval was that many investors' funds had been drained, leading some to believe that the Ethereum blockchain had been compromised and the project had failed.
Following the chaos, the majority of Ethereum's group opted for a "hard fork" to recoup the investors' losses and repair the company's tarnished image. While the overwhelming majority of Ethereum's community supported the fork, a small minority did not, clinging to the idea of "Code Is Law" and staying on the old blockchain, resulting in the creation of "Ethereum Classic" by hard forking the Ethereum Blockchain.
