Since the underlying database driver can now return an error when looking
up if blocks and transactions exist, the HaveBlock function now includes
an error return to allow any underlying errors to be exposed.
This commit refactors the code to make use of the btcnet package for
network-specific parameters instead of switching on the specific network.
For example, the percentage of the network that needs to run version 2
blocks is different between testnet and mainnet. Previously the code was
using a switch to choose these values. With this refactor, those
parameters are part of the network parameters provided when creating a new
chain instance.
Another example is checkpoints, which have been moved to btcnet so they
can be specified by the caller instead of hard coded into this package.
As a result, the checkpoints for the standard networks are now specified
in the btcnet package.
This makes it easier to add new networks such as a testnet4 should it
become needed. It also allows callers to define their own custom network
parameters without having to modify the code of the package to add new
switch cases for the custom network.
The name findLatestKnownCheckpoint is confusing and doesn't really convey
the fact the purpose of the function is to the find the checkpoint prior
to the current known block.
Therefore, rename the function to findPreviousCheckpoint for clarity.
Also, update some comments to follow suit.
Previously there was only a function to get the latest checkpoint. This
commit exposes a new function named Checkpoints which returns a slice of
checkpoints ordered by height for the active network or nil when
checkpoints are disabled.
Previously the code performed a database query for every checkpoint (going
backwards) to find the latest known checkpoint on every block. This was
particularly noticabled near the beginning of the block chain when there
are still several checkpoints that haven't been reached yet.
This commit changes the logic to cache the latest known checkpoint while
keeping track of when it needs to be updated once a new later known
checkpoint has been reached.
While here, also add a log message when a checkpoint has been reached and
verified.
Previously the main network checkpoints were being used for unrecognized
networks. This commit changes the code so that no checkpoints are used in
that scenario.
After discussing the criteria used by the core developers on #btc-dev IRC
channel, gmaxwell indicated they like to see at least 2016 blocks. This
commit updates the checkpoint confirmations accordingly.
