If you are using any device, let us use phone as a case study. If you are using your mobile phone, you must have come across where you are asked to upgrade or update the mobile phone that you are using. Well, without being told, we all knows that the update means lite touch to the phone performance or other related software nodes while the upgrade is the major touch which includes upgrade to all the software that covers the phone. The difference is that one doesn't requires major changes to the software in the phone while one requires major changes to the phone operating system and co. This is generally what makes the cryptocurrency ecosystem interesting. The ability to be able to run soft or hard fork if the need arises is the reason hive and soft fork touch came into existence. I have been seeing some persons asking questions about soft and hard fork, they are asking to know more about what really the hard fork and the soft fork is meant for. They are just after learning. I must admit that I am really happy seeing that I am able to throw in little information regarding these cryptocurrency topic. Please to all those who knows or have ideas regarding what I am about saying, and at same time you are ready to contribute to what I said, I am open to correction. What I will advice is to make use of the comment box so that we all can keep learning altogether. One thing that I keep saying is that we are one family through the cryptocurrency ecosystem. This unity deep down no matter what, is what we should in all ways learn to maintain it. It will really help us I must admit. We all should remember the popular saying that states that united we stand, divided we fall.
The hard fork is usually an intentional fork resulting in the chains being incompatible. The chains continue following different paths from the point of the fork. One chain follows the new protocol, while the other continues to follow the old protocols.
A soft fork is considered to be the most reasonable of the two. It is an intentional fork usually used to update the protocols slightly while ensuring that the new protocol remains backward compatible with blocks formed prior to the fork. This means that updating the new protocol is optional for nodes, resulting in only one chain.
As for your information I decided to explain further what hard fork and the soft fork means. It is not that easy to know if surely we wanted to know about it. After I finish educating you guys you will know how to easily spot between when a hard fork is being carried out or if it is soft fork. The moment you know about it, when newbies asked you to differentiate between the both of them, i.e the hard fork or soft fork you won't be panicking. You will be filled with boldness when you are speaking. In all you do, you should make sure that It is good to know about the thing that you are dealing on, like selling of paint, tiles etc. There is nothing bad having knowledge about what you are doing, it will go alot into helping you in so many ways or occasions. The reason why I became very knowledgeable about hard and soft fork is imply because I did a lot of research about it.
Now come to the main topic, what is the difference between the hard fork and soft fork, I will be using hive as a case study. Do you know that misunderstanding came some years back and the Hive ecosystem split into two, one became Hive and one became Steem. Now permit me to tell you that after the community says that they want to depart and go their separate ways, the witness triggered the fork button and the rest is history. Let me tell you this, hard fork splits blockchain into two why soft fork just upgrade a cryptocurrency chain or blockchain. You can now see how easy the both is. When their is an issue and there is need to split, the hard fork is what you will need and then you can now go your separate way. Hard fork just means splitting of blockchain into two while soft fork is just to upgrade or update the blockchain ecosystem.
I will end the post here, have a nice day.