[BTC-dev] The Bitcoin Foundation: STATE OF BITCOIN ADDRESS

Thu Jan 1 20:45:11 UTC 2015

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 ..::[ The Bitcoin Foundation: STATE OF BITCOIN ADDRESS ]::..

     [        Date: 2014.12.28                          ]
     [   Co-Chairs: mod6 [R.01] && ben_vulpes [R.02]    ]

0x00] Introduction

   It is with great honor and satisfaction that The Bitcoin Foundation
   embraces this opportunity to address the public on the state of current
   progress, obstacles and continuing steps in our mission.

   As this year has drawn to a close, it also marks the end of the second month
   of operations for The Bitcoin Foundation.  Herein, there are new tidings of
   actions taken to de-cruft our treasured Bitcoin Reference Implementation.

0x01] Accomplishments

   [ Removal of Checkpoints ]:
   mod6 created a patch that removes the Checkpoint blocks from the
   Reference Implementation: bitcoin-v0_5_3-rm_checkpoints.5.patch [R.04].

   [ Bypassing the Wedge Block at 252450 ]:
   mod6 created a patch to update BDB configuration code
   per kakobrekla's [R.05] findings to bypass the wedge block at 252450:
   ``bitcoin-v0_5_3-db_config.6.patch'' [R.06].

   [ Full Sync of Blockchain ]:
   The Reference Implementation was fully patched with the following patches:

   [R.07]  chicken.tar.gz
   [R.08]  rm_rf_upnp.tar.gz
   [R.09]  https-snipsnip.tar.gz
   [R.0A]  turdmeister-alert-snip.tar.gz
   [R.0B]  goodbye-win32.tar.gz
   [R.0C]  rm_checkpoints.tar.gz
   [R.0D]  db_config.tar.gz

   After patches were applied in the specific order above and compiled, the
   reference implementation was able to fully sync with the rest of the
   Bitcoin network.

   [ Regression Testing ]:
   In accordance with our December ToDo List [R.03] continued regression
   testing was performed per section `0x0' on the patched Reference
   Implementation.  Upon full blockchain sync with the network send/receive
   and generate tests were also performed [R.0E].

   [ Building Your Own ]:
   If you would like to build the Reference Implementation of your own from
   the v0.5.3 codebase with patches, you can follow this guide:
   ``Building with Patch Files'' [R.0F].

0x02] Complications and Obstacles

   [ Defect While Syncing Blockchain ]:
   During regression testing we conducted numerous full sync tests of the
   blockchain with the patched Reference Implementation.  We have discovered
   that with the latest patches we can bypass the wedge block at 252450;
   however, there is still a defect that causes the reference implementation
   to crash during a full sync.  After the reference implementation crashes,
   we are able to restart the daemon and continue syncing blocks without
   issue.  Upon full sync of the blockchain, the reference implementation
   appears to be more stable than during the full sync process.  We have at
   least one instance of the patched Reference Implementation that has been
   running for at least 351 hours (~14.6 days) without incident:

   root at localhost# date
   Tue Dec 30 17:53:19 UTC 2014
   root at localhost# ps ax | grep "bitcoind"
   17602 ?        SLsl 351:18 ./bitcoind -daemon -debug

   The defect appears to be isolated to the process of syncing of the
   blockchain.  An analysis and debugging effort surrounding this issue will
   be utilized in attempts to isolate the defect and come to a resolution.

0x03] Continuing Steps

   [ Debugging of Full Sync Defect ]:
   As stated in section `0x02' the defect occurs during the full sync of the
   blockchain from the network.  This will be a major focus area during the
   month of January.

   Provided a resolution is found for this defect another round of regression
   testing will be initialized to ensure no regression have been introduced.

0x04] Conclusion

   The Bitcoin Foundation was founded on October 22nd, 2014.  In just over two
   months since its inception, there has been much accomplished thanks to the
   contributors and community; however, there is still much to be done.  We look
   forward to continuing our mission throughout 2015 and beyond.

   Once Again:

   The health and success of our beloved Bitcoin is the object of which
   our greatest cares and efforts ought to be directed, and we humbly ask
   for your continued cooperation and collaboration to set forth a
   lightweight, coherent and cruft-free reference implementation.

   The Bitcoin Foundation would like bestow our sincerest thanks and
   gratitude to the contributors and community for its support.

[ References ]:
  [R.01]: 027A 8D7C 0FB8 A166 4372 0F40 7217 05A8 B71E ADAF
  [R.02]: 4F79 0794 2CA8 B89B 01E2 5A76 2AFA 1A9F D2D0 31DA
  [R.03]: http://thebitcoin.foundation/ml/btc-dev/2014-December/000018.html
  [R.04]: http://thebitcoin.foundation/ml/btc-dev/2014-December/000023.html
  [R.05]: 27C3 CE9A 2085 1312 F086 268C 27AF 7532 1F24 89E8
  [R.06]: http://thebitcoin.foundation/ml/btc-dev/2014-December/000024.html
  [R.07]: http://thebitcoin.foundation/chicken.tar.gz
  [R.08]: http://thebitcoin.foundation/rm_rf_upnp.tar.gz
  [R.09]: http://thebitcoin.foundation/https-snipsnip.tar.gz
  [R.0A]: http://thebitcoin.foundation/turdmeister-alert-snip.tar.gz
  [R.0B]: http://thebitcoin.foundation/goodbye-win32.tar.gz
  [R.0C]: http://thebitcoin.foundation/rm_checkpoints.tar.gz
  [R.0D]: http://thebitcoin.foundation/db_config.tar.gz
  [R.0E]: http://pastebin.com/raw.php?i=V2PzW2LP
  [R.0F]: http://thebitcoin.foundation/ml/btc-dev/2014-December/000025.html

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