- Block, A block is a chunk of an IPLD DAG, encoded in a format. Blocks have CIDs.
- Node, A node is a point in an IPLD DAG (map, list, number, etc.). Many nodes can exist encoded inside one Block.
- Link, A link is a kind of IPLD Node that points to another IPLD Node. Links are what make IPLD data a DAG rather than only a tree. Links are content-addressable (CID).
- Path Segment, A path segment is a piece of information that describes a move from one Node to a directly connected child Node. (In other words, a Path-Segment is either a map key or a list index.)
- Path, A path is composed of Path Segments, thereby describing a traversal from one Node to another Node somewhere deeper in the DAG.
- Transforming content of a Block into Nodes conforming to the IPLD Data Model should never require interpretation in the context of anything not contained in the Block plus CID.
- Similarly, traversing an IPLD Node according to a Path should not require interpretation in the context of anything not already contained in that Node plus Path.
- Format, is the standardized representation of IPLD Links and Paths. It describes how to translate between structured data and binary. MUST remain consistent across all codec implementations.
- Content addressability refers to the ability to refer to content by a trustless identifier.
- IPLD links must not be cyclic, even if we add support for relative links.
- IPLD path resolution means the same thing, everywhere, every time.
Reference:
List of active multiformat specification(s).
- Micro-site, http://multiformats.io
- Unsigned varint, https://github.com/multiformats/unsigned-varint
- Multicodec, https://github.com/multiformats/multicodec
There are other implementations that can suite your need better: