Step, Local Step, and Consensus Steps

[TheChronicMonster]

I like to call this entry, "One Step at a Time"

A Reach program moves between different modes or "steps" during its lifecycle. Understanding these steps is the beginning of understanding Reach architecture.

Consensus Steps = “in the contract”

• The word consensus means "everyone agrees"
• These steps are the parts of the program where participants interact on the blockchain to agree upon a shared truth
• This is where information is written to the blockchain

Steps = "a different node in the state diagram of the program"

• These are the parts where everyone doesn't agree
• Typically, during Steps the program is gathering information and/or waiting for an event (i.e. Alice waits for Bob to select his move)
• Here is the state diagram for the Rock, Paper, Scissors tutorial. It demonstrates how the state updates at every Step.

Local Steps = "on the client with no effect on the blockchain"

Parts of the program where individuals interact privately, usually on their local machine or private instance.

For example,

• Only Alice selects Rock
• Only Bob selects Paper

Increase your understanding by reading more about the Reach model and reviewing our overview.