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Title: What is MAST? Post by: #BitcoinVegan on December 23, 2017, 10:59:30 PM What is MAST, and how will it benefit bitcoin?
Title: Re: What is MAST? Post by: figmentofmyass on December 23, 2017, 11:06:16 PM What is MAST, and how will it benefit bitcoin? it stands for "Merklized Abstract Syntax Trees." bitcoin magazine did a pretty good introduction here (https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/the-next-step-to-improve-bitcoin-s-flexibility-scalability-and-privacy-is-called-mast-1476388597/). in the simplest terms, it's a proposed addition to bitcoin (finally formally proposed on the mailing 3 months ago) that can allow for smaller transaction sizes and more privacy. more efficient implementation of smart contracts is a big part of it. here's a simplified rundown from Mark Friedenbach (https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/6yk8gz/mast_proposal_on_the_mailing_list_its_happening/dmovut6/): Quote An abstract syntax tree is a computer science term for the parsing of a programming language into a tree like structure, where for example an "if" condition would be a parent node and the two branches (if/else) the children. The MAST idea was that if you hash both branches you can then choose to only reveal the branch you take, gaining a possible space savings and more importantly an increase in privacy as observers don't see the other branch. |