Parallel Runtimes

The ParaTime interface to the consensus layer en-ables the SwiftCloud Blockchain Platform to run differentParaTimes, Indeed, multiple ParaTimes can run simultaneously, subject to the availability of congensuslayer resources for processing updates. Parallel execution via ParaTimes can be an effective way of scalingtransaction throughput when no inter-ParaTime co-ordination is needed.

ParaTimes can commit every transaction to the con-sensus layer or only comnmit periodically values thatrepresent several transactions. In the latter case, sum-marizing multiple transactions into a single hash valuemeans that ParaTime transaction throughput can bedecoupled from the block production at the oonsensuslayer. When a ParaTime hash represents many transactions, those that occur within a ParaTime time-linemay be assigned a sequential order by the ParaTimei.e., based on the authenticated data structure usedto derive the summnary hash value. However, a transaction Ta that ran on ParaTime A and a transaction TB that ran on ParaTime B do not necessarily haveany ordering relationship with ench other, e.g., if thehash summary from each of the ParaTimes for thesetwo transnctions were commnitted to the samne consen-sus block. Both TA and Tr occurred before the blockwas added to the blockchain, but we cannot make anyinferences about their relative order.