lbcwallet/rpc/documentation/README.md

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Modernize the RPC server. This is a rather monolithic commit that moves the old RPC server to its own package (rpc/legacyrpc), introduces a new RPC server using gRPC (rpc/rpcserver), and provides the ability to defer wallet loading until request at a later time by an RPC (--noinitialload). The legacy RPC server remains the default for now while the new gRPC server is not enabled by default. Enabling the new server requires setting a listen address (--experimenalrpclisten). This experimental flag is used to effectively feature gate the server until it is ready to use as a default. Both RPC servers can be run at the same time, but require binding to different listen addresses. In theory, with the legacy RPC server now living in its own package it should become much easier to unit test the handlers. This will be useful for any future changes to the package, as compatibility with Core's wallet is still desired. Type safety has also been improved in the legacy RPC server. Multiple handler types are now used for methods that do and do not require the RPC client as a dependency. This can statically help prevent nil pointer dereferences, and was very useful for catching bugs during refactoring. To synchronize the wallet loading process between the main package (the default) and through the gRPC WalletLoader service (with the --noinitialload option), as well as increasing the loose coupling of packages, a new wallet.Loader type has been added. All creating and loading of existing wallets is done through a single Loader instance, and callbacks can be attached to the instance to run after the wallet has been opened. This is how the legacy RPC server is associated with a loaded wallet, even after the wallet is loaded by a gRPC method in a completely unrelated package. Documentation for the new RPC server has been added to the rpc/documentation directory. The documentation includes a specification for the new RPC API, addresses how to make changes to the server implementation, and provides short example clients in several different languages. Some of the new RPC methods are not implementated exactly as described by the specification. These are considered bugs with the implementation, not the spec. Known bugs are commented as such.
2015-06-01 21:57:50 +02:00
# RPC Documentation
This project provides a [gRPC](http://www.grpc.io/) server for Remote Procedure
Call (RPC) access from other processes. This is intended to be the primary
means by which users, through other client programs, interact with the wallet.
These documents cover the documentation for both consumers of the server and
developers who must make changes or additions to the API and server
implementation:
- [API specification](./api.md)
- [Client usage](./clientusage.md)
- [Making API changes](./serverchanges.md)
A legacy RPC server based on the JSON-RPC API of Bitcoin Core's wallet is also
available, but documenting its usage it out of scope for these documents.