Convex

Convex is a decentralised network and execution engine for the Internet of Value. It can be seen as an implementation of a "Stateful Internet" where the network itself securely hosts and executes code and data.

It is designed as a full stack solution for decentralised applications and programmable economic systems that manage digital assets, where asset ownership is cryptographically secured and can be managed (optionally) with Smart Contracts.

Convex is based on Lattice Technology, exploiting the mathematical properties of lattices to achieve efficient consensus and verifiability. Lattice technology can be used to solve problems in a similar manner to blockchains, but offers some significant advantages:

Global State model with immutable data structures and atomic transactions
Lambda Calculus based VM supporting Turing complete Smart Contracts
High transaction throughput (tens of thousands of write transactions per second, potentially scaling to millions in the future)
Simple networking protocol based on random gossip
Low latency for transaction confirmation (milliseconds for global consensus, depending on network speed)
100% Green - energy efficiency using the Convergent Proof of Stake consensus algorithm
Integrated on-chain compiler (Convex Lisp)

About this repository

This repository contains the core Convex distribution including:

The Convex Virtual Machine (CVM) including data structures and execution environment
The standard Convex Peer server implementation (NIO based) implementing Convergent Proof of Stake (CPoS) for consensus
CLI Tools for operating Peers, scripting transactions and more
The Etch database for persistent data storage
A Swing GUI for managing local peers / exploring the network
A simple REST API server
JMH Benchmarking suite
Java Client API

The repository also contains core "on-chain" libraries providing key full-stack functionality and tools for decentralised applications, including:

convex.fungible - Fungible Tokens
asset.nft.simple - Basic lightweight Non-fungible tokens
asset.nft.tokens - More advanced NFTs with customisable functionality
convex.asset - library for managing arbitrary digital assets using a common abstraction
convex.trust - library for access control and trusted operations
torus.exchange - decentralised exchange for trading fungible tokens and currencies
Example code and templates for various forms of smart contracts

Modules

Name	Description	Maven	Javadoc
`convex-core`	CVM, data structures and consensus
`convex-peer`	Peer implementation and networking
`convex-cli`	Command Line Tools
`convex-gui`	GUI Peer Manager Interface

For making use of Convex data structures, CVM execution etc. locally you probably just need convex-core. If you want to run a Peer or talk to a Peer over the network, then you will need convex-peer as a dependency. The other modules are mainly intended to run as standalone applications.

Key features

Virtual Machine - The Convex Virtual Machine provides a secure execution environment based on the Lambda Calculus and capable of acting as the execution layer for smart contracts and autonomous agents.
Decentralised Consensus - Similar to Blockchain technology, Convex incorporates a consensus mechanism that ensures all nodes ultimately agree on true values in the system without the control of any single entity. This property means that it is inherently tamper-proof and censorship-resistant.
Performance and Scalability - Convex is capable of executing large volumes of transactions (tens of thousands of transactions per second) with low latency (sub-second global consensus)
100% Green - No wasteful consumption of energy or computing resources

Running Convex

Command Line Interface (CLI)

For more information about running a Convex Peer and the Command Line Interface see the documentation

Local GUI Peers

The convex Peer Manager (GUI application) can be used to run a local test network.

This can be invoked by running the jar archive directly e.g. with the following command:

java -jar convex-gui/target/convex-gui-0.7.1.jar

or you can run this from the command line by using the local gui command:

./convex local gui

Contributing

Open Source contributions are welcome under the terms of the Convex Public License. Contributors retain copyright to their work, but must accept the terms of the license.

We have instituted a Contributors Agreement for all contributions to the core Convex repository.

The Convex Foundation may, at its sole discretion, award contributors with Convex Coins as recognition of value contributed to the Convex ecosystem. Convex coins are the native coin of the Convex network, and function as a utility token that provides the right to make use of the services of the network. Convex coins may be exchangeable for other digital assets and currencies.