btcec: Optimize pre-computed table load.

This commit modifies the pre-computed table used to optimize the secp256k1
scalar multiplication to a string instead of a byte slice.  This change
makes the compile more efficient since the Go compiler internally
represents bytes slices inefficiently.

This reduces the memory needed to compile btcec to 3MB versus the previous
40MB before this change.

In addition, it modifies the code which loads the pre-computed table to
deserialize directly into the table instead of into locals that are then
copied.

Fixes #297.

btcec/genprecomps.go

@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ func main() {
 	fmt.Fprintln(fi, "// Auto-generated file (see genprecomps.go)")
 	fmt.Fprintln(fi, "// DO NOT EDIT")
 	fmt.Fprintln(fi)
-	fmt.Fprintf(fi, "var secp256k1BytePoints = []byte(%q)\n", encoded)
+	fmt.Fprintf(fi, "var secp256k1BytePoints = %q\n", string(encoded))
 
 	a1, b1, a2, b2 := btcec.S256().EndomorphismVectors()
 	fmt.Println("The following values are the computed linearly " +

btcec/gensecp256k1.go

@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ import (
 
 // secp256k1BytePoints are dummy points used so the code which generates the
 // real values can compile.
-var secp256k1BytePoints = []byte{}
+var secp256k1BytePoints = ""
 
 // getDoublingPoints returns all the possible G^(2^i) for i in
 // 0..n-1 where n is the curve's bit size (256 in the case of secp256k1)

btcec/precompute.go

@@ -5,11 +5,11 @@
 package btcec
 
 import (
-	"bytes"
 	"compress/zlib"
 	"encoding/base64"
 	"encoding/binary"
 	"io/ioutil"
+	"strings"
 )
 
 //go:generate go run -tags gensecp256k1 genprecomps.go
@@ -23,17 +23,14 @@ import (
 func loadS256BytePoints() error {
 	// There will be no byte points to load when generating them.
 	bp := secp256k1BytePoints
-	if len(secp256k1BytePoints) == 0 {
+	if len(bp) == 0 {
 		return nil
 	}
 
 	// Decompress the pre-computed table used to accelerate scalar base
 	// multiplication.
-	decoded := make([]byte, base64.StdEncoding.DecodedLen(len(bp)))
+	decoder := base64.NewDecoder(base64.StdEncoding, strings.NewReader(bp))
-	if _, err := base64.StdEncoding.Decode(decoded, bp); err != nil {
+	r, err := zlib.NewReader(decoder)
-		return err
-	}
-	r, err := zlib.NewReader(bytes.NewReader(decoded))
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
@@ -48,7 +45,9 @@ func loadS256BytePoints() error {
 	for byteNum := 0; byteNum < 32; byteNum++ {
 		// All points in this window.
 		for i := 0; i < 256; i++ {
-			px, py, pz := new(fieldVal), new(fieldVal), new(fieldVal)
+			px := &bytePoints[byteNum][i][0]
+			py := &bytePoints[byteNum][i][1]
+			pz := &bytePoints[byteNum][i][2]
 			for i := 0; i < 10; i++ {
 				px.n[i] = binary.LittleEndian.Uint32(serialized[offset:])
 				offset += 4
@@ -61,9 +60,6 @@ func loadS256BytePoints() error {
 				pz.n[i] = binary.LittleEndian.Uint32(serialized[offset:])
 				offset += 4
 			}
-			bytePoints[byteNum][i][0] = *px
-			bytePoints[byteNum][i][1] = *py
-			bytePoints[byteNum][i][2] = *pz
 		}
 	}
 	secp256k1.bytePoints = &bytePoints