corda/README.md

![Corda](https://www.corda.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/fg005_corda_b.png)

# Corda

Corda is a decentralised database system in which nodes trust each other as little as possible.

## Features

* A P2P network of nodes
* Smart contracts
* Flow framework
* "Notary" infrastructure to validate uniqueness of transactions
* Written as a platform for distributed apps called CorDapps
* Written in [Kotlin](https://kotlinlang.org), targeting the JVM
 
Read our full and planned feature list [here](https://docs.corda.net/inthebox.html).

## Getting started

Firstly, read the [Getting started](https://docs.corda.net/getting-set-up.html) documentation. 

Next, use the following guides to set up your dev environment:

* If you are on **Windows** [use this getting started guide](https://www.corda.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Corda-Windows-Quick-start-guide-1.pdf) which also explains through how to run the sample apps.

* Alternatively if you are on **Mac/Linux**, [watch this brief Webinar](https://vimeo.com/200167665) which walks through getting Corda, installing it, building it, running nodes and opening projects in IntelliJ.

After the above, watching the following webinars will give you a great introduction to Corda:

### Webinar 1 – [Introduction to Corda](https://vimeo.com/192757743/c2ec39c1e1)
 
Richard Brown, R3 Chief Technology Officer, explains Corda's unique architecture, the only distributed ledger platform designed by and for the financial industry's unique requirements. You may want to read the [Corda non-technical whitepaper](https://www.r3.com/s/corda-introductory-whitepaper-final.pdf) as pre-reading for this session.
 
### Webinar 2 – [Corda Developers’ Tutorial](https://vimeo.com/192797322/aab499b152)
 
Roger Willis, R3 Developer Relations Lead, provides an overview of Corda from a developer’s perspective and guidance on how to start building CorDapps. You may want to view [Webinar 1 - Introduction to Corda](https://vimeo.com/192757743/c2ec39c1e1) as preparation for this session. **NB. This was recorded for the M5 release.**

## Building on Corda

To build your own CorDapps:

1. Clone the [CorDapp Template repository](https://github.com/corda/cordapp-template)
2. Read the [README](https://github.com/corda/cordapp-template/blob/master/README.md) (**IMPORTANT!**)
3. Read the [Writing a CorDapp](https://docs.corda.net/tutorial-cordapp.html) documentation

To look at the Corda source and run some sample applications:

1. Clone this repository
2. To run some sample CorDapps, read the [running the demos documentation](https://docs.corda.r3cev.com/running-the-demos.html)
3. Start hacking and [contribute](./CONTRIBUTING.md)!

## Useful links

* [Project website](https://corda.net)
* [Documentation](https://docs.corda.net)
* [Slack channel](https://slack.corda.net/)
* [Forum](https://discourse.corda.net)
* [Meetups](https://www.meetup.com/pro/corda/)
* [Training Course](https://www.corda.net/corda-training/)


## Development State
 
Corda is under active development and is maturing rapidly. We are targeting
production-readiness in 2017. The API will continue to evolve throughout 2017;
backwards compatibility not assured until version 1.0.

Pull requests, experiments, and contributions are encouraged and welcomed.

## Background

The project is supported by R3, a financial industry consortium, which is why it 
contains some code for financial use cases and why the documentation focuses on finance. The goal is to use it
to construct a global ledger, simplifying finance and reducing the overheads of banking. But it is run as 
an open source project and the basic technology of a peer-to-peer decentralised database may be useful 
for many different projects.

## Contributing

Please read [here](./CONTRIBUTING.md).

## License

[Apache 2.0](./LICENSE)

## Acknowledgements

![YourKit](https://www.yourkit.com/images/yklogo.png)

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