On Thu, Dec 29, 2011 at 01:55:03AM -0500, rocon...@theorem.ca wrote: > Gavin asked me to come up with an alternative to OP_EVAL, so here is my > proposal. > > OP_CODEHASH Initial Proposal
If we're again brainstorming about alternatives for OP_EVAL, I'll do my own. It is called OP_CHECKEDEVAL, and is specified as follows: * It looks at the two elements most recently (in code position) pushed by a literal, and not yet consumed by another OP_CHECKEDEVAL. These are S (the serialized script), and H (its hash). This implies it defines its own literal-only stack, where all literals push to, and only OP_CHECKEDEVAL pops from. This special stack has the advantage of allowing static analysis - one does not need to execute any operations to find out which data will end up on it. Note that "skipped" code (inside the ignored part of an IF-THEN-ELSE) can still push to the literal stack. * For the "outer script", it does not have any effect at all, except for: * 2 elements popped from the literal-only stack * potentially causing failure It does not touch the main stack, alt stack or any other part of the execution state not listed above. * Failure is caused when either of these conditions hold: * No two elements remain on the literal-only stack * The Hash(S) != H * The inner script execution caused failure * For the execution of the inner script: * It is executed in a completely new and independent execution environnement * It executes the deserialized S * It inherits the main stack and alt stack (without the serialized script and the hash themselves) from the outer execution. This requires OP_CHECKEDEVAL to immediately follow the push of script and hash, so the code in the pair < <script> OP_CHECKEDEVAL > can be parsed and interpreted as code, allowing static analysis. As OP_CHECKEDEVAL has absolutely no effects except for potentially causing failure, it is very similar to the OP_NOPx it would replace, and guarantees that interpreting OP_CHECKEDEVAL as OP_NOPx can never cause the script to become invalid if it wasn't already. A basic pay-to-script-hash scriptPubKey is very short: <scriptHash> OP_CHECKEDEVAL And it is redeemed using: <script inputs> <script> Furthermore, the implementation is very similar to what was already done for OP_EVAL. Modifications: * EvalScriptInner needs less by-ref arguments, as it cannot modify the parent's state. * A literal-only stack needs to be maintained. I believe this combines all advantages: * Easy spend-to-script-hash (shorter than OP_EVAL) * Backward compatible (guaranteed by construction, instead of separately enforced like with OP_EVAL) * Statically analyzable (though it requires deserializing the script data). * Possibility to introduce a new language inside (not done in this proposal) Only disadvantages: * Slightly less flexible than OP_EVAL, as it disallows dynamic interation with serialized scripts. * Static code analyzers need to deserialize script data. Credits: gmaxwell for the idea of a literal-only stack -- Pieter ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ridiculously easy VDI. With Citrix VDI-in-a-Box, you don't need a complex infrastructure or vast IT resources to deliver seamless, secure access to virtual desktops. With this all-in-one solution, easily deploy virtual desktops for less than the cost of PCs and save 60% on VDI infrastructure costs. Try it free! http://p.sf.net/sfu/Citrix-VDIinabox _______________________________________________ Bitcoin-development mailing list Bitcoin-development@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/bitcoin-development