Link: https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/pull/4657
It is not necessary to build all functionality into bitcoind, to form a decentralized network. BitPay's insight open source block explorer API project requires, and runs on top of, bitcoind. Therefore, at the same IP address as bitcoind, other services are made available to the public (scriptPubkey queries, other added-value queries). This results in a decentralized network of "anyone running a full node and an insight server", as a subset of the whole P2P net. One then does not need to trust BitPay's insight server, but may query any number of insight servers from multiple operators, and survey the results. Obviously, we want to build this in a generic, vendor-neutral way. As such, NODE_EXT_SERVICES is advertised via the "addr" P2P message. Nodes that recognize the NODE_EXT_SERVICES bit may connect to that node, query a services list via "getextsrv" P2P message, and then take further action based on the results. The results are quite straightforward: service name, service port (or -1 if undefined), list of string key/value attribs Services may only advertise added services if and only if the external services are at the same IP address that is being advertised. This is not a fully baked proposal by any means, but more of a trial balloon to get discussion moving. There is no need to implement all services inside bitcoind... -- Jeff Garzik Bitcoin core developer and open source evangelist BitPay, Inc. https://bitpay.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Want fast and easy access to all the code in your enterprise? Index and search up to 200,000 lines of code with a free copy of Black Duck Code Sight - the same software that powers the world's largest code search on Ohloh, the Black Duck Open Hub! Try it now. http://p.sf.net/sfu/bds _______________________________________________ Bitcoin-development mailing list Bitcoin-development@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/bitcoin-development
