Author: Mike Hearn 2013-06-20 07:36:40
Published on: 2013-06-20T07:36:40+00:00
The discussion on the Bitcoin-development mailing list revolves around whether a new version field is needed or not. The question arises if there is any proposal for a feature that would require a new version field currently. It is argued that changing the protocol without an actual need to add a new field is pointless. Moreover, it is pointed out that the Bitcoin protocol has never required a fixed number of fields per version. Any parser written on such an assumption would be buggy. It is suggested that the tx messages are relayed as raw byte streams to preserve fields added in new versions during round-tripping. Old versions are supposed to preserve fields from the future.The issue with the current parser is highlighted by Tamas Blummer, who suggests that the fields are conditionally optional only if there are no subsequent fields added. If there will be further fields, they will become mandatory. To address this, Blummer proposes bumping the version and parsing the fields as mandatory from then on. This will ensure backward compatibility and cleaner forward progress.This email thread also includes a sponsored message promoting Windows and urging developers to build for Windows Store.
Updated on: 2023-06-06T19:12:47.455274+00:00