Documentation Index
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Concept
Content-addressed storage.
A content address is a name for bytes that comes from the bytes themselves.
What this means
Content-addressed storage = storing bytes so the content can be found by a fingerprint of the content.Fingerprint = a short identity made from the bytes. If the bytes change, the fingerprint changes.That gives Bitfield a useful rule. The same bytes have the same identity. Different bytes have a different identity.Why this matters
Most app code thinks in names that people made up. A record might be calleduser_123, invoice_9, or project-settings. Those names are useful, but they do not prove what bytes are inside.A content address points at the bytes by what they are. That makes identity, reuse, and integrity easier to explain:Identity.
The address points at the content, not at a random storage location.
Reuse.
The same content can share the same identity instead of being treated like a totally new thing.
Integrity.
If the bytes change, the identity changes, so silent changes are easier to catch.
How this connects to speed
Content addresses do not make every job instant. They remove a kind of searching when the system already knows which content it needs.That is why the benchmark ledger separateswarm-local-read from content-address-lookup. A warm local read means Bitfield already knows the local bytes to read and the needed pages are warm. A content address lookup means Bitfield first resolves the content identity, then reads.Those are both local jobs. They are not the same job.What stays private
Public docs can explain that content addresses exist and what they do.Public docs do not expose private byte layouts, private hash framing, private record encoding, or raw benchmark logs.That boundary is not a lack of proof. It is the difference between explaining how the product works and handing out proprietary internals.Content address = a name made from the bytes. That is the public idea. The private layout stays private.