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From: Andy Parkins <andyparkins@gmail.com>
To: bitcoin-development@lists.sourceforge.net
Date: Tue, 23 Jul 2013 10:30:13 +0100
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Subject: Re: [Bitcoin-development] HTTP REST API for bitcoind
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On Monday 22 July 2013 20:42:45 Jeff Garzik wrote:
> URL: https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/pull/2844
> 
> Adding an HTTP REST API for bitcoind has been occasionally tossed
> about as a useful thing.  Such an API would essentially provide a
> decentralized block explorer capability, enabling easy external access
> to transaction/address/block indices that we maintain.

This is excellent.

> The first two implemented API calls are simple, returning a block or
> TX given a simple query string based on block hash, e.g.
> 
>      GET /rest/tx/TX-HASH
> or
>      GET /rest/block/BLOCK-HASH

One additional URL makes this pretty much perfect:

  GET /rest/block-with-tx/TX-HASH

Construction of the transaction-hash-to-block database is something the full 
client's have to do anyway, so this query is no harder than the others for 
them to supply; but suddenly makes it possible for an SPV client to trace the 
providence of any transaction without needing to maintain the entire chain.


Andy

-- 
Dr Andy Parkins
andyparkins@gmail.com