LarryRuane

Proposal Summary

I don't have a formal protocol verification background, but I have a proposal related to specification that may aid in creating formal verification, and would be helpful in its own right.

Specifications are usually in the form of a document, but of Bitcoin it's often said that its only protocol (consensus) specification is the Bitcoin Core client software (although it's a de facto, not authoritative specification; the latter doesn't exist). But the difficulty in verifying its correctness, or for readers to understand it, is that it (appropriately) includes so much non-protocol complexity and optimization (both CPU and memory). Also, it's written in C++, which is very efficient, but is not easy to understand.

With that background, my proposal is to write a full consensus protocol specification in the form of working code in its simplest possible form. Human language is amgibuous, but code is precise; it answers all possible question

LarryRuane

#!/usr/bin/env python3
# When two cosecutive blocks have out of order timestamps (the higher height's time
# is less than the lower height's time), print the height of the lower-height block.
#
# prerequisite;
# $ pip3 install python-bitcoinrpc
# or see https://github.com/jgarzik/python-bitcoinrpc

from bitcoinrpc.authproxy import AuthServiceProxy
api = AuthServiceProxy("http://lmr:[email protected]:8332")

LarryRuane

prevector<28u, unsigned char, unsigned int, int>::change_capacity (this=0x555561065eb8, new_capacity=67) at ./prevector.h:191
prevector<28u, unsigned char, unsigned int, int>::resize_uninitialized (this=0x555561065eb8, new_size=67) at ./prevector.h:392
Unserialize_impl<CAutoFile, 28u, unsigned char> (is=..., v=...) at ./serialize.h:782
Unserialize<CAutoFile, 28u, unsigned char> (is=..., v=...) at ./serialize.h:797
UnserializeMany<CAutoFile, prevector<28u, unsigned char, unsigned int, int>&> (s=..., arg=...) at ./serialize.h:1059
SerReadWriteMany<CAutoFile, prevector<28u, unsigned char, unsigned int, int>&> (s=..., ser_action=...) at ./serialize.h:1072
CScript::SerializationOps<CAutoFile, CScript, CSerActionUnserialize> (obj=..., s=..., ser_action=...) at ./script/script.h:435
CScript::Unser<CAutoFile> (s=..., obj=...) at ./script/script.h:435
CScript::Unserialize<CAutoFile> (this=0x555561065eb8, s=...) at ./script/script.h:435
Unserialize<CAutoFile, CScript&> (is=..., a=...) at ./serialize.h:705

LarryRuane

#!/bin/env python3

import sys
from struct import pack

if len(sys.argv) != 2:
    print("usage:", sys.argv[0], "file")
    sys.exit(1)
bitoffset = 0
v = 0

LarryRuane

#!/bin/env python3
import sys
import random

if not len(sys.argv) == 4:
    print("usage:", sys.argv[0], "reps points a-win-%")
    sys.exit(1)

reps = int(sys.argv[1])
points = int(sys.argv[2])

LarryRuane

#!/usr/bin/env python3
import time, sys

from bitcoinrpc.authproxy import AuthServiceProxy
api = AuthServiceProxy("http://lmr:[email protected]:8332")

# infinite retry
def api_retry(*args):
    global api
    while True:

LarryRuane

#!/usr/bin/env python3
from bitcoinrpc.authproxy import AuthServiceProxy
api = AuthServiceProxy("http://lmr:[email protected]:8332")
info = api.getblockchaininfo()
tip_height = info['blocks']
print("tip height", tip_height)
witness = 0
for i in range(0, tip_height+1):
    blockhash = api.getblockhash(i)
    b = api.getblock(blockhash)

LarryRuane

#include <iostream>
#include <string.h>

int line;

class String {
    public:

    char* m_buffer;
    size_t m_size;

LarryRuane

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

class X {
    public:
        int i;
        
        // ordinary cons X y(5):
        X(int x) : i(x) { cout << "constructor " << i; }
        

LarryRuane

CIA Torture Scandal Prosecutions

Is anyone in prison for the CIA torture scandal?

No one has been convicted or imprisoned for the CIA torture scandal. The Senate Intelligence Committee's report on the CIA's use of enhanced interrogation techniques, which were widely considered to be torture, was released in December 2014. The report detailed the CIA's use of waterboarding and other harsh methods on terrorism suspects in the years following the 9/11 attacks. However, no criminal charges have been brought against anyone involved in the program, and the Department of Justice has not pursued any prosecutions. Some human rights groups and lawmakers have called for those responsible to be held accountable, but to date, no one has been charged or convicted for their role in the CIA's enhanced interrogation program.

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But wasn't the whistleblower who exposed the scandal put in prison?

A CIA officer named John Kiriakou was convicted in 2012 of violating the Espionage Act for disclosing classified in