Author: Turkey Breast 2013-06-19 10:33:13
Published on: 2013-06-19T10:33:13+00:00
The discussion is regarding variable length messages in Bitcoin protocol. The writer suggests that a fixed number of fields per protocol should be defined, for deterministic number of fields per protocol version to ensure easier parsing messages and good programming practice. Mike Hearn questions the issue with variable length messages as it doesn't cause any problem in any codebase that he's aware of. Additionally, he mentions that the fRelayTxes field, which was missing in the version message, was not a bug and that there was a recent change in bitcoind/qt to always send this field anyway. He also states that Amir's BIP 60 doesn't go well with the protocol's inherent nature of allowing arbitrary data appended after tx messages. The email thread provides a link to BIP 60 which details everything that needs to be done and proposes a protocol upgrade.
Updated on: 2023-06-06T19:06:08.784171+00:00