# Q: How ceramic works?

By [Fat Garage](https://paragraph.com/@fat-garage) · 2022-04-04

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![what ceramic looks to me💆](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/8b774a53080fa880c5089ccd65e5803a2debebb7581e8bf3903d1f43001d06a0.png)

what ceramic looks to me💆

IDX is an identity protocol for open applications. It provides a decentralized [index](https://developers.idx.xyz/learn/overview/#index) which allows structured data to be associated to a decentralized identifier ([DID](https://developers.idx.xyz/learn/glossary/#did)). Data is defined by [definitions](https://developers.idx.xyz/learn/overview/#definition) and stored in [records](https://developers.idx.xyz/learn/overview/#record).

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/4e83d412528011e49e04a5ec033da76011ec14e583cc0cdde14535242389e7ab.png)

### index 检索

The index is a key-value store document that stores a list of [definition](https://developers.idx.xyz/learn/glossary/#definition) and [record](https://developers.idx.xyz/learn/glossary/#record) 索引就是包含一系列的Definitions 定义 和 Records 存储的对应关系

![index](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/66a2fbacb89bcb9264605c6b9064cdf234f0c5f8948e780ce30581306bb8b971.png)

index

### Definitions 定义

Definitions are documents that describe records with metadata and a schema. 是通过metadata和schema来描述 records的**文件**

A [definition](https://developers.idx.xyz/learn/glossary/#definition) is a stream which describes a [record](https://developers.idx.xyz/learn/overview/#record). It is identified by a [definitionID](https://developers.idx.xyz/learn/glossary/#definitionid).

![definitions](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/c14fb32565a91c2c3a9038e32e74639ede4a09ecf8c1042827f507de3fb973db.png)

definitions

### Records 存储

Records are documents that store discrete units of identity information for a user. 是存具体用户的身份信息的文件

A [record](https://developers.idx.xyz/learn/glossary/#record) is a stream which contains data specified by a definition. It is identified by a [recordID](https://developers.idx.xyz/learn/glossary/#recordid). 包含被definition定义的**数据流**

![records](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/6e6b043c86d93cd8ceb0d0e20cdf6249c681aa1a951003b74d7e927c0a802f8e.png)

records

### Schema--JSON

A [schema](https://developers.idx.xyz/learn/glossary/#schema) is a stream which contains a [JSON schema](https://json-schema.org/). It specifies the data format of a [record](https://developers.idx.xyz/learn/overview/#record). It is identified by a [schemaURL](https://developers.idx.xyz/learn/glossary/#schemaurl) which is included in a [definition](https://developers.idx.xyz/learn/overview/#definition).

一个json文件流。规定了record的数据格式，并且是definition里面的一个值。

Does it fit the word block reference idea?
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[https://mirror.xyz/0x65a0Af703047dfDd270361659d02f4f0E8547202/IdvI4xfl08nGcd1ElXa6LinQuBXyQZl94DvNXBUUnao](https://mirror.xyz/0x65a0Af703047dfDd270361659d02f4f0E8547202/IdvI4xfl08nGcd1ElXa6LinQuBXyQZl94DvNXBUUnao)

maybe it can be like…

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/9816c142e236278c1dc16ee126e901e8a5c599348c8cccdcf16fcb0b1f41e5c4.png)

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*Originally published on [Fat Garage](https://paragraph.com/@fat-garage/q-how-ceramic-works)*