Subject: Re: [Bitcoin-development] HTTP REST API for bitcoind

From: Andy Parkins <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 23 Jul 2013 10:30:13 +0100

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
[email-masked]