lbcd/wire/README.md
Dave Collins 2eef3720a9 Import btcwire repo into wire directory.
This commit contains the entire btcwire repository along with several
changes needed to move all of the files into the wire directory in
order to prepare it for merging.  This does NOT update btcd or any of the
other packages to use the new location as that will be done separately.

- All import paths in the old btcwire test files have been changed to the
  new location
- All references to btcwire as the package name have been chagned to
  wire
- The coveralls badge has been removed since it unfortunately doesn't
  support coverage of sub-packages

This is ongoing work toward #214.
2015-01-31 14:59:57 -06:00

125 lines
4.3 KiB
Markdown

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