Running a transaction and committing to its accepted result are related but different stages.
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A cashier can calculate a bill before a clearing process settles the payment.
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Link blocks, then see what an edit breaksStep 1 / 4
The first toy block records Maya sending Leo three units. A1 is an illustrative fingerprint label, not a real cryptographic digest.
The first toy block records Maya sending Leo three units. A1 is an illustrative fingerprint label, not a real cryptographic digest.Block two stores a reference to A1. A new page is connected to the prior page through its fingerprint.Block three refers to B2. The linked history now has three pages, each building on the previous one.Editing block one changes its toy fingerprint to X9. Block two still refers to A1, so its parent link is invalid and the downstream continuation needs revalidation.
Animated local teaching model. No wallet, RPC or live blockchain data. Some labels and hashes are abbreviated for readability.
Execution applies rules
An execution environment takes inputs and state and calculates effects. A rollup can perform this locally under its virtual-machine rules while producing a claim or proof for another layer.
Settlement establishes accepted consequences
The settlement mechanism checks the relevant evidence and determines the state claims or transfers recognized under its rules. A fast local result can precede this stronger stage.
Applications should name the stage
A label such as confirmed can refer to different milestones across products. Ask whether it means sequencer acceptance, data publication, proof verification or completed settlement.
Finality has context
Ethereumfinality and a rollup’s internal confirmation rules are not identical vocabulary. A good explanation specifies which chain and mechanism support the claim.
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Can execution finish before the result has completed its settlement process?
Many layered systems separate fast execution from later settlement evidence.