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Glossary
        Kyle Peacock edited this page Oct 28, 2021 
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    This page breaks down terms you'll see in the Internet Computer ecosystem.
The Internet Computer blockchain (IC) is a layer-1 blockchain that uses a novel chain-key consensus model to run performant smart contracts in Web Assembly. Developing dapps on the Internet Computer is different from Ethereum development in a few important ways.
- Data and assets can be natively stored on-chain
 - Canister smart contracts can hold private data that is not necessarily available on a public blockchain
 - The network scales horizontally - blockchain technology is used to maintain and expand the network through a governance system, but individual canisters can run arbitrary code.
- It is more appropriate to treat the state of a canister with skepticism, like a server. If the canister does not have public source code, and is still controlled by a private Principal, it can alter and represent its state however it likes.
 
 
Canisters are the IC's smart contract system.
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