How to create a version control for a simple array using blockchain

Question

I have built a very simple blockchain in which I want to record additions of new numbers, deletions, and interchanging of numbers. How do i store these changes without giving them a lot of storage space? 

I've considered creating a merkle tree of all the elements of the array and storing the merkle root to check whether the version matches or not, but storing the same data into multiple blocks is redundant and inefficient.

Answer 1

For tracking changes you may simply save individual changes for every element in array. In your example it would like this:

STATE 1: [1:3,2:4,3:5,4:6]
STATE 2: [5:4]
STATE 3: [1:1,2:-1]

It won't be space-efficient if there are lots of changes with every state update. But if more then half of the array stays the same, you will benefit.

Merkle Tree is used for verifying individual blocks of data(transactions) received from unknown or little-known sources. It is used in blockchain wallets or torrent clients. It is not used for storing arrays.