Project Progress [███████████████████████░░░] 85% Complete Features
Functional Blockchain Core: ✅
Implements a working blockchain structure that can add blocks, process transactions, and maintain chain integrity. Successfully demonstrates the creation of multiple blocks, including a genesis block and subsequent transaction blocks.
Transaction Processing: ✅
Supports creating, signing, and validating transactions. Demonstrates successful transfer of funds between wallets.
UTXO Model: ✅
Uses the Unspent Transaction Output model for tracking balances and validating transactions. UTXO set is correctly updated with each new block and transaction.
Wallet Functionality: ✅
Generates private/public key pairs and Bitcoin-like addresses. Implements transaction signing using the wallet's private key.
Mining Simulation: ✅
Implements a basic Proof of Work (PoW) mining algorithm. Includes difficulty adjustment to maintain consistent block generation times. Successfully demonstrates mining of new blocks with transactions.
Merkle Tree: ✅
Implements Merkle trees for efficient and secure verification of block transactions.
Balance Calculation: ✅
Accurately calculates balances based on the UTXO set.
Blockchain Information: ✅
Displays detailed information about the blockchain, including block details and transaction counts.
Performance Improvements: ✅
Adjusts block generation time to 5 seconds for faster testing and development. Includes mining performance metrics, such as mining time and hash rate.
Mempool: ✅
Implements a memory pool for managing unconfirmed transactions. Transactions are held in the mempool before being included in a block.
Peer-to-Peer Networking: 🚧
Basic networking structure implemented. Full P2P functionality still in progress.
Advanced Scripting: 🚧
Basic transaction scripts implemented. More complex scripting capabilities in development.
User Interface: 🚧
Command-line interface basics implemented. More user-friendly interface in progress.
Project Structure
blockchain.rs: Core implementation of the Blockchain struct and related methods. structures.rs: Defines key data structures like Block and Transaction. wallet.rs: Implements wallet functionality for key management and transaction signing. utxo.rs: Manages the UTXO set for balance tracking and transaction validation. merkle_tree.rs: Implements the Merkle tree for transaction verification. mempool.rs: Manages the memory pool of unconfirmed transactions. main.rs: Entry point of the application, demonstrating the usage of the blockchain.
Recent Improvements
Implemented dynamic difficulty adjustment to target 5-second block times. Added mining performance metrics to measure mining time and hash rate. Integrated Merkle tree for improved transaction verification. Implemented a mempool for managing unconfirmed transactions. Enhanced the main demonstration script to show a complete workflow of the blockchain, including multiple transactions and balance updates. Improved logging and information display for debugging and verification.
Potential areas for further development include:
- Completing the peer-to-peer networking layer implementation.
- Enhancing the scripting system for more complex transaction types.
- Improving the command-line interface for better user interaction.
- Implementing a simple block explorer functionality.
- Adding more comprehensive test coverage.
- Optimizing performance for handling larger transaction volumes.