OrbisDB is built on top of decentralized components such as DIDs and Models. Despite being new, these concepts have been made easy to use thanks to OrbisDB abstractions and a Web2-like DX.
OrbisDB utilizes decentralized identifiers (DIDs) for account management. Each entry in the OrbisDB is verifiably owned by its original author - a trait inherited from Ceramic.
DIDs bring this to another level, allowing users to own their identity in full. They are self-verifiable, so you can prove your identitiy (and data ownership) with no 3rd parties involved.
Learn more in the Accounts section (link).
Composable data requires rules. Applications and users need to understand the data in order to consume.
Models are a way for you to define your OrbisDB tables using standard JSON Schema. This helps OrbisDB build out the tables, indexes and relations required. It also allows you to control the data format, structure and rules - making it easy for anyone to consume.
Find out how to create your first Table in our Models section (link).
Data in today’s world is already complex enough. However, bringing data to an open and composable network is a challenge for itself.
Contexts and Sub-Contexts are an OrbisDB (and Ceramic) native way of organizing data.
Think of them as separate “Spaces” in your OrbisDB. They help OrbisDB sift through data to index, but also allow isolation for things such as Plugins (link).
Learn how data organization works in our Contexts section (link).
We were determined to bring a familiar developer experience to the Web3. This is one of the reasons our indexing is backed by PostgreSQL.
However, there’s more to it than just the choice of technologies. Our SDK methods should feel just as familiar, whether you’re interacting with our underlying data network (Ceramic) or OrbisDB directly.
Writing data to a decentralized data network is one function call away - literally.
Learn how INSERTs and UPDATEs work in OrbisDB in our Writing (link) and Updating (link) data sections.