Author: Mike Hearn 2012-12-04 17:06:05
Published on: 2012-12-04T17:06:05+00:00
The version of a bitcoin client is specified as part of the MIME type in Invoice messages received via email or web server. The syntax "version=" is used and is part of the MIME standard. The client should only receive the expected version, which is communicated to the merchant when requesting an invoice. The idea of including bootstrapping details in the spec is debated, with a proposed solution being to extend the URI spec in a backwards compatible way. A compatible client would ignore the rest of the URI and download the URL provided in the invoice parameter. A server on the merchant's website can see the client's expected version and vend the appropriate one. To allow for extending the protocol, a simple mechanism is proposed where tag numbers are updated on a wiki page with new parts defined in separate .proto files. This allows for easier implementation of new features without having to manually merge message definitions. Once standardized through a BIP, the core definition can be extended to include these messages.
Updated on: 2023-06-06T08:32:14.384840+00:00