Merge !405

Boog900 full time work on Cuprate, the Rust Monero node (2 months)

See merge request monero-project/ccs-proposals!405

boog_2_months_cuprate.md

+---
+layout: fr
+title: Boog900 full time work on Cuprate, the Rust Monero node (2 months)   
+author: Boog900
+date: August 03, 2023
+amount: 130
+milestones:
+  - name: Consensus rules up to RingCT
+    funds: 53 XMR
+    done:
+    status: unfinished
+  - name: All Consensus rules up to present
+    funds: 53 XMR
+    done:
+    status: unfinished
+  - name: Consensus Rules document
+    funds: 24 XMR
+    done:
+    status: unfinished
+payouts:
+  - date:
+    amount:
+  - date:
+    amount:
+  - date:
+    amount:
+---
+
+Cuprate is a WIP Rust Monero node that SyntheticBird45 started back in Feburary, I joined the project not 
+long after that, but sadly me and SyntheticBird have not been able to spend much time on it. Even more sad 
+is that recently SyntheticBird decided to stop working on Cuprate for personal reasons that I will not get 
+into here.
+
+This CCS is to support me working on Cuprate full time for the next 2 months, In this time I will complete 
+the transaction/ block verification. While doing this, I will also create a `consensus rules` document, which 
+will document all of Moneros consensus rules from genesis to the current rules.
+
+# Why
+
+Currently, Monero only has one node written in C/C++, many would see this as an issue.
+Having only one implementation makes us more vulnerable to implementation bugs, having
+another node will help us to spot and fix these issues.
+
+monerods code is also a bit of a mess, as many devs who have worked on it would agree. Cuprate
+is a fresh start and is built with modularity in mind which will lead to a cleaner and easier
+to understand codebase.
+
+Having a `consensus rules` document will make it easier for developers to build software to interact
+with Monero. It will also make it easier to spot potential issues with consensus rules.
+
+# Who
+
+I am [Boog900](https://github.com/boog900), the current, and now solo, maintainer of Cuprate.
+
+# Design
+
+For an overview of the design see [here](https://github.com/Cuprate/cuprate/blob/main/misc/DESIGN.md)
+
+# What Has Been Done
+
+## P2P
+
+The peer-to-peer code is mostly complete; I have implemented levin headers, the epee binary format and all p2p messages.
+I have also done the p2p address book, individual peer request routing, handshakes and pruning calculations.
+
+## Blockchain Data
+
+I made a PR to monero-serai adding decoding/encoding/hashing of legacy transactions and blocks so this is complete.
+
+## Consensus Checks
+
+There is still a lot to do here, but monero-serai has already done verifying for bulletproofs(+) and CLSAG.
+My PR to monero-serai also contained an unverified MLSAG verify function and a WIP Borromean range proofs
+function.
+
+## Database
+
+The initial database abstraction is complete, and we have defined the tables (we have copied monerod for
+the moment). We have also created the methods to add and get blocks and transactions from the database.
+
+Still to-do: We need to investigate the database schema for optimizations.
+
+# Tasks
+
+We need to implement/ get ready for production verifying for MLSAG, borromean range proofs and V1 ring signatures, there are other 
+checks we need to do, but these are the big ones. As Monero does not have a protocol document, we will have to go through monerod 
+to find every check it performs and do them in Cuprate.
+
+Cuprates consensus checks will be grouped together in a single location, so they are clear and not spread around the codebase,
+they will also reference the `consensus rules` document at every check. If some checks are done elsewhere, for example some are done at
+deserialization, we will either duplicate the check or, if its expensive, we will put a comment referencing the check and the
+`consensus rules` in the single location.
+
+We also need to create bindings for Moneros legacy CryptoNight POW algorithms and select a Random-X binding. There is a Rust 
+Random-X implementation, which we plan to implement as an option, but we won't enforce it as it lacks review/ usage.
+
+As our P2P/ database code still needs some work, we will be using monerods RPC interface to test the code.
+
+*All code produced for this CCS will be licensed under MIT.*
+
+### Milestones
+
+1. ###### All Consensus rules up to RCT
+   Implement verification for transactions and blocks before RCT.
+2. ###### All Consensus rules up to present
+   Implement verification for all transactions and blocks.
+3. ###### Creation of the `consensus rules` document
+
+
+# Funding
+
+I am asking for $45/hr for 50hrs/week for 2 months at $148/XMR this gives 130 XMR