Author: Martin Sustrik 2013-10-24 07:03:14
Published on: 2013-10-24T07:03:14+00:00
In a discussion about the importance of consistency over correctness in protocol documentation, Pieter Wuille suggests that any potential documentation should start with a statement emphasizing this. He also argues that making it difficult to find information about the details of the system is not the solution and alternate implementations are likely inevitable. Wuille believes that if effort is put into accurately describing the rules, there should be a strong notice indicating that it is descriptive rather than normative. The discussion raises questions about whether alternative implementations are more likely to get it wrong because the protocol description is incorrect or because the authors misunderstand the reference implementation source code. It is suggested that extensive documentation of the source code, similar to Knuth's literate programming, may be a middle ground. Finally, Wuille offers his availability for any questions regarding the protocol and its semantics.
Updated on: 2023-06-07T18:00:59.990228+00:00