Protocols
Note:
I'm leaning toward a re-vamp of the protocol description scheme away from strict levels and more toward a bit-field support / no support for various protocol features.Early thoughts
Just as the basic Assign Onward protocol supports multiple types of cryptographic methods, demonstrating the ability to include new methods as needed1For instance: to transition to quantum ready cryptography.
the protocol handler itself supports multiple protocols, demonstrating the path toward interoperability with future protocols. Some sense of the protocol development plan is found in the roadmap.
Ⓐ¹
The Ⓐ¹ protocol is a basic, single recorder protocol. Many optimizations are possible in a single recorder scenario, such as assumption that the chain never forks because there is a single entity responsible for maintaining it. This means that the block chain is guaranteed sequential, non-forking and non-merging - and that transactions recorded thereon can also be reliably sequenced, so that once recorded information like public key identities and shares received amounts can be referred to in the future by just a sequence number in a particular blockchain.2as identified by the hash of the genesis block
Ⓐ²
Ⓐ² protocol expands to support multiple, possibly competing, block chain recorders. Temporary forks and later re-merges of the blockchain are anticipated, and as such many of the optimizations in Ⓐ¹ which assume no forking become invalid. No matter, when software supports both Ⓐ¹ and Ⓐ² protocols, all they need to do is determine which protocol applies3as identified by declaration in the genesis block
and handle accordingly.
and many more
On the one hand, it would be nice to develop a single protocol to serve most use cases. On the other, it would be naïve to assume that a single protocol will set forth and optimally address all the myriad of presently unknown uses for lightweight blockchain impmementations. While it is entirely possible4as demonstrated by Bitcoin
to develop a single blockchain and endlessly modify an develop it over the years, I believe it is also practical to develop replacement protocols which can start fresh and take over for existing protocols,5takeover to happen on the merits of the new protocol, if it is a truly superior protocol then it should be able to overcome the inertia of the existing implementations and replace them.
particularly in an ecosystem where no single blockchain is attempting to rule the entire world.
Assign Onward
6 July 2018
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Copyright (c) 2018 Assign Onward
Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.