Introduction

Pioneering the field of legal engineering, Charles Goldfarb & Nick Szabo are among the most influential figures in the digital transformation of the global economy. Goldfarb’s work in structured digital data and Szabo’s groundbreaking blockchain and smart contract concepts underpin technologies responsible for over $20 trillion in economic value. Recent advancements, like Ix/Acc’s ERC-7827 JSON smart contracts and hierarchical script-databases, aim to build on this foundation, potentially unlocking even greater economic opportunities.

Will Smith at Ix/Acc follow in Goldfarb & Szabo’s legacy and help generate trillions more wealth creation for humanity?

Charles Goldfarb: Architect of Structured Digital Data

In 1969, Charles Goldfarb, along with colleagues at IBM, developed the Generalized Markup Language (GML), a revolutionary system for document management that used semantic tagging to describe content structure (source). This innovation evolved into the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) in 1986, which became the foundation for HTML and XML, two technologies essential to the modern Internet (source, source).

SGML introduced document type definitions (DTDs), enabling the validation of document structures. These features proved critical for industries like aerospace and defense and later powered the development of the World Wide Web (source, source). Technologies derived from SGML now contribute to the $12 trillion global digital economy, driving e-commerce, cloud computing and API/REST ecosystems (source).

Evolution from SGML to HTML and XML

Timeline of Developments

1960s-70s: Early Markup Concepts

Charles Goldfarb, along with Ed Mosher and Ray Lorie, developed GML (Generalized Markup Language) at IBM, which became the foundation for document markup systems. GML was a precursor to SGML, aimed at standardizing document processing across industries (source).

1986: SGML Becomes a Standard

SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language), created by Charles Goldfarb, was formalized as an ISO standard. SGML provided a powerful framework for creating custom document markup languages, making it ideal for large-scale document management in fields like defense and publishing. However, its complexity made it unsuitable for the emerging Internet (source).

1991: Birth of HTML

Tim Berners-Lee adapted SGML to create HTML (HyperText Markup Language), a simpler application designed for web use. HTML used predefined tags to structure web pages, making it user-friendly and ideal for sharing content online.

Late 1990s: Challenges with HTML

As the web grew, HTML's limitations became evident. It lacked robust mechanisms for structuring and reusing data, leading to inconsistent browser behavior and complicating data-driven applications. These challenges highlighted the need for a more flexible markup system (source, source, source).

1998: XML as a Solution

XML (eXtensible Markup Language) was introduced as a simplified and stricter subset of SGML. Designed to be both extensible and easy to use, XML allowed communities to create custom tags while ensuring compatibility with modern web technologies. It quickly became the standard for structured data interchange on the web, balancing the complexity of SGML with the limitations of HTML.

Key Characteristics

• SGML: Developed by Charles Goldfarb, SGML was a highly flexible but complex system for defining document structures.

• HTML: A simpler application of SGML, HTML enabled the rise of the World Wide Web but lacked extensibility.

• XML: A streamlined evolution of SGML, XML allowed for extensibility, data validation and compatibility with web standards.

Rise Of The NoSQL, JSON Objects

Why is XML declining and what’s taking its place? Not HTML, as XML was anticipated to take HTML’s place, but instead grew alongside HTML until the XML alternative JSON interdata subset of JavaScript (a.k.a. ECMA-262) invented in 2001 started taking over (source, source, source). We’ll learn more about this in the Ix/Acc ERC-7827 section, which combines JSON and smart contracts.

With ERC-7827 implemented as described in the JSONstateUXNFT section below, hopefully it’ll become clear to you how Smith at Ix/Acc is combining Goldfarb & Szabo together with (HTML + JSON) as the SGML replacement (Goldfarb) running on smart contracts (Szabo):

• the HTML as an ERC-721 smart contract (NFT, prototype is ERC-1155)

• the JSON as an ERC-7827 smart contract

HTML & XML Usage vs Internet Economy Over Time

• HTML Usage: HTML has consistently been the dominant technology for web content, with nearly 95-98% of websites relying on HTML from 2000 to the present (source).

• XML Usage: XML experienced significant adoption in the early 2000s, particularly for data structuring and transfer. However, its usage has declined since then, with modern formats like JSON becoming more prevalent in web applications (source, source, source).

• Internet Economy Value: The Internet economy has seen dramatic growth, contributing $300 billion to the U.S. GDP in 2008 and increasing to $2.45 trillion in 2020, accounting for around 12% of the total U.S. GDP (source, source).

Nick Szabo: Architect of Financialized Structured Digital Data

In November 2024, crypto trading alone hit $10 trillion USD (source). As of today, the market is $3.5 trillion USD (source).

1. Nick Szabo: The Pioneer (1996–1998)

• Smart Contracts (1996): Szabo introduced the concept of "smart contracts," self-executing digital agreements that operate based on predefined rules. His work aimed to minimize reliance on intermediaries by embedding logic into transactional systems. This idea laid the groundwork for programmable blockchain functionality (source).

• Bit Gold (1998): Szabo conceptualized Bit Gold, often called the "precursor to Bitcoin." Bit Gold proposed a decentralized system for creating digital tokens through proof-of-work, a mechanism to ensure scarcity and security in digital currencies (source).

• Core Principles:

  • Trustless systems: No need for intermediaries.

  • Cryptographic proof: Security through encryption.

  • Decentralized ledger: A distributed system for recording transactions.

2. Satoshi Nakamoto: Realizing the Vision (2008–2009)

• Bitcoin Whitepaper (2008): Nakamoto's whitepaper, Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System, directly implemented many ideas Szabo pioneered in Bit Gold. Bitcoin introduced the blockchain, a distributed ledger technology that combined:

  • Proof-of-work to validate transactions.

  • A decentralized network to prevent double-spending.

  • Transparent yet pseudonymous public keys to secure ownership (source).

• Launch of Bitcoin (2009):

  • Nakamoto introduced Bitcoin as a working implementation of Szabo’s theoretical designs. It addressed weaknesses in centralized financial systems exposed during the 2008 financial crisis (source, source).

  • Bitcoin became the first cryptocurrency, providing a global, censorship-resistant payment system.

• Key Innovations from Nakamoto:

  • The blockchain as a permanent, append-only ledger.

  • Incentivized mining to secure the network.

  • A finite supply cap (21 million BTC) to ensure scarcity.

3. Vitalik Buterin: Beyond Currency (2013–2015)

• Ethereum’s Creation (2013):

  • Vitalik Buterin, inspired by Bitcoin’s blockchain, envisioned a general-purpose blockchain for decentralized applications. He proposed Ethereum as a platform to execute smart contracts, fulfilling Szabo’s original concept at scale (source).

• Ethereum Whitepaper (2013):

  • Buterin introduced Ethereum as a blockchain network that included a Turing-complete programming language, enabling developers to build decentralized applications (dApps) beyond simple financial transactions (source, source).

• Ethereum Launch (2015):

  • Ethereum introduced smart contract functionality on its blockchain, making it possible to create decentralized finance (DeFi) systems, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations) (source).

• Advancements Over Bitcoin:

  • Smart Contracts: Fully programmable, allowing automated agreements.

  • Ether (ETH): Used to power computational operations on the network.

  • ERC-20 Tokens: Enabled the creation of new cryptocurrencies on Ethereum.

  • Decentralized Apps (dApps): Expanded blockchain use cases to areas like lending, gaming and governance.

Key Continuities and Breakthroughs

• From Szabo to Nakamoto:

  • Szabo’s Bit Gold introduced the conceptual framework for decentralized digital money.

  • Nakamoto implemented these ideas practically in Bitcoin, creating a functional cryptocurrency ecosystem.

• From Nakamoto to Buterin:

  • Nakamoto’s blockchain provided the technical infrastructure for decentralized trust.

  • Buterin extended this infrastructure, making it programmable for general-purpose applications beyond currency.

Ix/Acc’s ERC-7827 and Hierarchical Script-Databases

ERC-7827 JSON Smart Contracts

Ix/Acc’s ERC-7827 JSON smart contracts enhance blockchain functionality by introducing value version control, allowing contracts to evolve over time while maintaining backward compatibility. This builds on Goldfarb’s principles of structured data representation and Szabo’s trustless agreements (source, source, source).

Why JSON? If you recall from earlier in this article, XML didn’t retain the dominate market share and is now in decline. Instead, JSON continues to dominate. RPCs are growing, but slowly and not with much of a market share. ERC-7827 is there to help RPCs grow by having them provide JSON. Please note that JSON-RPC is not JSON and it might be better to definite it as EVM-RPC for JSON rather than REST for JSON in this context (source, source, source, source, source, source, source).

More generally, the goal is to facilitate competition on the gateway layer of the Internet, which includes protocols such as IPFS, not just EVM-based RPCs.

The only way to do this is through distributed ledge technologies “DLT.” Permissionless DLTs that use smart contracts have found success because the built-in consideration -- one of the 3 elements of contract law -- passively inventivizes people to run validators. Ergo, EVM relies on the software of society through gas fee motivations developed out of jurisprudence applied as computational market inventiveness.

Hierarchical Script-Databases

Beyond being amazing for event-driving programming in general, hierarchical script-databases expand the capabilities of blockchain by enabling scalable and organized logic execution. These databases align with the structured data principles of Goldfarb’s SGML and the decentralized automation envisioned by Szabo (source, source, source).

JSONstateUXNFT

Ix/Acc’s first 0 to 1 product motivation for ERC-7827 is to use ERC-7827 in a Von Neumann architecture inspired NFT system:

• ERC-7827 is the persistent data side and an NFT that is HTML 100% onchain using base64 and the animation_url metadata standard is persistent instructions side (source, source)

  1. The client calls the instructions as an NFT -- ERC-721 -- on sites like OpenSea

  2. the instructions have the client call the persistent data -- ERC-7827

Here’s the proto-JSONstateUXNFT completed during MegaZu, 2024.

OpenSea doesn’t allow same-origin for iFrames on its main site, but it still hosts the NFT with same-origin allowed here.

You can see the hierarchical script-database kernel at work in the screenshot above. It’s generating the _0 namespace from the DOM’s <script> HTML tags.

UXNFT is a more opinionated version of iNFTs. Here’s an earlier prototype of an iNFT long before we developed ERC-7827 that doesn’t have any Von Neumann separation but does use IPFS within the fully onchain base64 HTML wrapper.

Why is RPC delivered JSON better than REST delivered JSON? Because with RPCs, the database is open to any server who can provide it better than their competition, rather than the only server who can access the database as is the case with REST APIs (source). Powerful laissez-faire forces that didn’t use to exist on the Internet are now emerging, because smart contracts adequately incentivize people to maintain a distributed ledger by adding the consideration element of contract law to computation.

Economic Potential of Ix/Acc’s Advances

The integration of structured metadata systems like SGML by Goldfarb with decentralized systems inspired by Szabo has already reshaped global industries. Ix/Acc’s technologies -- such as Smith’s ERC-7827 -- are as infra as GoldFarb & Szabo’s work and promise further disruption by enabling complex, scalable and interoperable legal frameworks on blockchain platforms (source).

Modern applications, from tokenized assets to decentralized governance systems, to JSON-AVS-securitized with RPC-called-triggers legal person robots, could create entirely new economic sectors, adding trillions to the global economy.

Conclusion

Charles Goldfarb & Nick Szabo are the first heavyweight legal engineers of many generations to come. Whether Ix/Acc will herald in the early-adopters or remain innovative, Goldfarb & Szabo are the initial-innovator giants whose backs we humbly stand on. Their contributions to structured digital communication and decentralized finance have redefined the global economy, enabling systems that generate well over $20 trillion in value.

Ix/Acc intends to impact the legal engineering industry as much or more than Goldfarb & Szabo, with Smith’s ERC-7827 JSON smart contracts and hierarchical script-databases -- first opinionated with the above proto-JSONstateUXNFT -- offering a clear path to the next stage of economic transformation for those able to envision how information infra, especially jurisprudential information theory, connects to new paradigms of coordination and wealth creation.

Join Smith at Ix/Acc in his attempt to follow in Goldfarb & Szabo’s legacy, and help generate trillions more in prosperity for humanity.

This article was written with the help of ChatGPT.