Blockchain foundations overview

Core TON concepts, data formats, transaction mechanics, network internals, and reference materials

Data and serialization

TON stores data as graphs of cells and serializes those graphs for messages, blocks, account state, proofs, and storage.

TL-B: how TON data structures are defined and serialized.
Cells: basic storage units used by TVM, persistent storage, and smart contract code.
Library references: cells that point to published library cells by hash.
Merkle proofs: exotic cells that prove selected data belongs to a larger cell tree.
Merkle updates: exotic cells that describe a verified transition between two cell trees.
Pruned branches: compact replacements for deleted subtrees.
Bag of Cells: the standard format for transferring or storing cell graphs.

Read about using Merkle cells for the verification of selected blockchain data in smart contracts and off-chain software: Proofs overview.

What happens to accounts before, during, and after transaction execution.

Addresses: how accounts are identified and how smart contracts exchange messages.
Messages and transactions: contract execution triggers and records of the resulting account state changes.
Actions: how smart contracts queue operations to be performed during the action phase.
Account status: whether an account can store balance, hold code, or process transactions.
Execution phases: the storage, credit, compute, action, and bounce phases that can make up a transaction.
Transaction fees: storage, compute, import, forward, and action costs during transaction processing.
Traces: causally related messages and transactions grouped into one operation flow.

How TON scales, enforces limits, and stores network parameters.

Blockchain sharding: how workchains split into shardchains that process account activity in parallel.
Blockchain limits: maximum sizes, depths, gas values, and other network constraints.
Blockchain configuration: values that influence validator behavior, fees, capabilities, and system contracts.
Web3 services: TON Network, TON Storage, TON Proxy, TON DNS, and TON Sites.
System contracts: contracts that manage validator elections and blockchain configuration.
Precompiled contracts: contracts with native implementations in validator nodes.

How validators exchange dependent messages and prepare data for consensus: Catchain consensus.

Original and new TON whitepapers: