Network Vision & Principles
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This section details how different components and participants within the LearnCard ecosystem communicate and interact. It covers the underlying principles of these interactions, common patterns for using APIs, and the typical order of operations (Sequencing) for key processes.
Understanding this is crucial because it explains the "rules of the road" for how digital credentials and data move and are verified within the LearnCard environment, enabling you to build robust and interoperable applications.
For decades, credentials like diplomas, licenses, and certificates have been largely physical or, if digital, often locked into specific, isolated systems. This made them hard to share, difficult to verify quickly, and limited in their use.
The advent of Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) and Verifiable Credentials (VCs) (which you can learn more about in our and " sections) has started a digital transformation. We now have the tools for anyone to issue a verifiable digital credential to anyone else, for that credential to be securely stored by its holder, and then presented to third parties for verification in a trustworthy way.
However, just having these tools isn't enough. To unlock their full potential—to move beyond simply digitizing old processes into creating dynamic, programmable, and broadly trusted interactions—we need common protocols and an open environment. Without this, digital credentialing could remain fragmented, preventing the powerful network effects (where a service becomes more valuable as more people use it) seen in other areas of the web.
The LearnCloud Network is envisioned as an open and interoperable ecosystem designed to facilitate the exchange, storage, programmability, and verification of Verifiable Credentials. It's not a single, centralized database, but rather a set of rules, protocols, and open-source tools that allow different systems and participants to interact seamlessly and securely.
Our vision is to foster an environment where the use of verifiable credentials becomes widespread, intuitive, and innovative. We aim to enable a new generation of applications where trust is built digitally, individuals have more control over their data, and new use cases for verifiable information can emerge rapidly across diverse fields like education, employment, and community engagement.
To achieve this vision, the LearnCloud Network is built around these primary goals:
Standardized Core Interactions: Provide clear, unified procedures for the essential lifecycle actions of Verifiable Credentials and Presentations – such as their creation, issuance, secure exchange, storage, and verification.
Openness and Extensibility: Develop the network using open-source principles and international standards. This allows for broad participation and ensures that the system can be extended and adapted by the community (for example, by "bringing your own implementation" for certain components while still adhering to the core protocol).
Broad Participation: Enable any individual, organization, or service to participate in the network, provided they meet minimal technical requirements, fostering inclusivity and accelerating adoption.
Interactions on the LearnCloud Network typically involve the classic roles of the "Triangle of Trust," now operating in a digital, networked context:
Issuers: Entities that create and digitally sign credentials to vouch for certain information about a Subject.
Holders: Individuals or entities who receive credentials, store them securely (often in a digital wallet like one powered by LearnCard SDK), and decide when and with whom to share them.
Verifiers (Relying Parties): Entities that receive credentials (often as part of a Verifiable Presentation from a Holder) and check their authenticity and validity to make informed decisions.
The LearnCloud Network provides the protocols and infrastructure to facilitate trustworthy interactions between these participants, ensuring that each role can operate with confidence in the integrity of the data and the identity of the other parties.
The design and operation of the LearnCloud Network are guided by principles such as:
Interoperability: Adherence to W3C standards and promotion of common formats to ensure credentials can be used across different systems and wallets.
Security & Verifiability: Leveraging strong cryptography for digital signatures to ensure credentials are tamper-evident and their origin can be proven.
User Control & Privacy: Empowering Holders to manage their own credentials and consent to how their data is shared, often using principles of data minimization.
Decentralization: Reducing reliance on single points of failure or control where appropriate, often through the use of DIDs.