Why are forks so important? And what's the difference between a Hard Forks and a Soft Forks?
What is a fork?
A "fork" is a modification of source code, in programming terms. The code is identical to the original but with major modifications. A fork is often used to check a process, but with cryptocurrency, it is used more frequently to enforce a fundamental change or to build a new asset with similar (but not equal) characteristics to the original (Litecoin VS Bitcoin).
With widespread open-source code, for example, if not all nodes reproduce the same knowledge, a fork may occur accidentally. These forks are generally automatically resolved and most cryptocurrency forks are handled in this way.
One thing for forks to bear in mind is that they have a "simple past" The reporting of transactions (old and new) on each of the networks is identical.
What are hard forks?
A hard fork is a change in the protocol which makes old versions invalid. When the old versions continue to operate, they end up with a different protocol and data to the new version. This can lead to major uncertainty and potential mistakes.
For Bitcoin, it will take a very large amount of memory to alter parameters such as block size, with the cryptographic puzzle's complexity in solving, the limits of additional details that can be applied, etc. Getting the blocks approved but refused by the old versions of the new protocol will cause severe problems and even loss of funds.
For example, if the block size limit was changed from 1 MB to 4 MB, a 2 MB block would be accepted by the nodes running the new version, but rejected by the nodes running the old version.
Hard forks are chaotic and risky- its possible that bitcoins spent in a new block can be reused on an old block (traders, wallets and users running the previous code don't detect the spending of the new code, which they deem invalid).
What are soft forks?
A soft fork can still work with older versions. For example, if a protocol is changed in a manner that tightens the rules, incorporates an architectural adjustment, or adds a feature that in no way affects the structure, then the old version blocks embrace the new version blocks. However not the other way around: the "newer" version will reject the blocks of the old version.
Bitcoin originally had no limitations on block size. The 1 MB cap was enforced via a "soft fork," because the new regulation was "stricter" than the old one. Also successfully added through a soft fork was the pay-to-script-hash function which enhances the code without changing the structure. This form of modification typically doesn't allow the majority of miners to change their block.
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