129 lines
4.7 KiB
Markdown
129 lines
4.7 KiB
Markdown
btcwire
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=======
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Package btcwire implements the bitcoin wire protocol. A comprehensive suite of
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tests with 100% test coverage is provided to ensure proper functionality. See
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`test_coverage.txt` for the gocov coverage report. Alternatively, if you are
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running a POSIX OS, you can run the `cov_report.sh` script for a real-time
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report. Package btcwire is licensed under the liberal ISC license.
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There is an associated blog post about the release of this package
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[here](https://blog.conformal.com/btcwire-the-bitcoin-wire-protocol-package-from-btcd/).
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This package is one of the core packages from btcd, an alternative full-node
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implementation of bitcoin which is under active development by Conformal.
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Although it was primarily written for btcd, this package has intentionally been
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designed so it can be used as a standalone package for any projects needing to
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interface with bitcoin peers at the wire protocol level.
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## Documentation
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Full `go doc` style documentation for the project can be viewed online without
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installing this package by using the GoDoc site here:
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http://godoc.org/github.com/conformal/btcwire
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You can also view the documentation locally once the package is installed with
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the `godoc` tool by running `godoc -http=":6060"` and pointing your browser to
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http://localhost:6060/pkg/github.com/conformal/btcwire
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## Installation
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```bash
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$ go get github.com/conformal/btcwire
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```
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## Bitcoin Message Overview
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The bitcoin protocol consists of exchanging messages between peers. Each message
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is preceded by a header which identifies information about it such as which
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bitcoin network it is a part of, its type, how big it is, and a checksum to
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verify validity. All encoding and decoding of message headers is handled by this
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package.
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To accomplish this, there is a generic interface for bitcoin messages named
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`Message` which allows messages of any type to be read, written, or passed
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around through channels, functions, etc. In addition, concrete implementations
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of most of the currently supported bitcoin messages are provided. For these
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supported messages, all of the details of marshalling and unmarshalling to and
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from the wire using bitcoin encoding are handled so the caller doesn't have to
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concern themselves with the specifics.
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## Reading Messages Example
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In order to unmarshal bitcoin messages from the wire, use the `ReadMessage`
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function. It accepts any `io.Reader`, but typically this will be a `net.Conn`
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to a remote node running a bitcoin peer. Example syntax is:
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```Go
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// Use the most recent protocol version supported by the package and the
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// main bitcoin network.
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pver := btcwire.ProtocolVersion
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btcnet := btcwire.MainNet
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// Reads and validates the next bitcoin message from conn using the
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// protocol version pver and the bitcoin network btcnet. The returns
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// are a btcwire.Message, a []byte which contains the unmarshalled
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// raw payload, and a possible error.
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msg, rawPayload, err := btcwire.ReadMessage(conn, pver, btcnet)
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if err != nil {
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// Log and handle the error
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}
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```
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See the package documentation for details on determining the message type.
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## Writing Messages Example
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In order to marshal bitcoin messages to the wire, use the `WriteMessage`
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function. It accepts any `io.Writer`, but typically this will be a `net.Conn`
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to a remote node running a bitcoin peer. Example syntax to request addresses
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from a remote peer is:
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```Go
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// Use the most recent protocol version supported by the package and the
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// main bitcoin network.
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pver := btcwire.ProtocolVersion
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btcnet := btcwire.MainNet
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// Create a new getaddr bitcoin message.
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msg := btcwire.NewMsgGetAddr()
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// Writes a bitcoin message msg to conn using the protocol version
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// pver, and the bitcoin network btcnet. The return is a possible
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// error.
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err := btcwire.WriteMessage(conn, msg, pver, btcnet)
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if err != nil {
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// Log and handle the error
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}
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```
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## TODO
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- Implement functions for [BIP 0014](https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/BIP_0014)
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- Implement alert message decoding/encoding
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- Implement bloom filter messages (filterload, filteradd, filterclear,
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merkleblock) as defined in [BIP 0037](https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/BIP_0037)
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## GPG Verification Key
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All official release tags are signed by Conformal so users can ensure the code
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has not been tampered with and is coming from Conformal. To verify the
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signature perform the following:
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- Download the public key from the Conformal website at
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https://opensource.conformal.com/GIT-GPG-KEY-conformal.txt
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- Import the public key into your GPG keyring:
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```bash
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gpg --import GIT-GPG-KEY-conformal.txt
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```
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- Verify the release tag with the following command where `TAG_NAME` is a
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placeholder for the specific tag:
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```bash
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git tag -v TAG_NAME
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```
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## License
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Package btcwire is licensed under the liberal ISC License.
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