[ANN] Bitcoin v0.3.24 release candidate available

[jgarzik]

Bitcoin v0.3.24 release candidate #1 is now available for download at
https://sourceforge.net/projects/bitcoin/files/Bitcoin/bitcoin-0.3.24/test/

This is another bug fix release.  We had hoped to have wallet encryption ready for release, but more urgent fixes for existing clients were needed.  Wallet encryption is ready for testing at https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/pull/352 for the git-savvy, and -hopefully- will follow shortly in the next release, v0.4.

Notable fixes in v0.3.24:

F1) Block downloads were failing or taking unreasonable amounts of time to complete, because the increased size of the block chain was bumping up against some earlier buffer-size DoS limits.
F2) Fix crash caused by loss/lack of network connection.

Notable changes in v0.3.24:
C1) DNS seeding enabled by default.
C2) UPNP enabled by default in the GUI client.  The percentage of bitcoin clients that accept incoming connections is quite small, and that is a problem.  This should help.  bitcoind, and unofficial builds, are unchanged (though we encourage use of "-upnp" and port forwarding to help the network!)
C3) Initial unit testing framework.  Bitcoin sorely needs automated tests, and this is a beginning.  Contributions welcome.
C4) Internal wallet code cleanup.  While invisible to an end user, this change provides the basis for v0.4's wallet encryption.

Full changelog ("git shortlog v0.3.23.."):

Dawid Spiechowicz (1):
      added polish translation

Doug Huff (1):
      Add OSX App bundle and correct build instructions to reflect reality.

Eric Hosmer (3):
      Updated Visual C++ makefile.
      Further updated Visual C++ makefile.
      Add keystore.h to makefile.vs's header list.

Gavin Andresen (1):
      Boost unit-testing framework.     make -f makefile.{unix,osx,mingw} test_b

Giel van Schijndel (2):
      rpc server: send '403 Forbidden' to rejected clients
      rpc: don't send 403 when using SSL to prevent DoS

Han Lin Yap (3):
      Double check translation and improved a translation string
      Update swedish translation
      Consistent Bitcoin example address

James Burkle (1):
      Edited init.cpp to include a check that -datadir exists

Jeff Garzik (6):
      FormatFullVersion: build fix related to recent translation improvement
      doc/release-process.txt: minor updates
      CWalletTx::GetAmounts(): pass NULL for CKeyStore*, rather than false     t
      Enable DNS seeding by default.
      Bump version to 0.3.24.
      Bump OSX version to 0.3.24 (missed in previous commit)

Joerie de Gram (1):
      Fix connection failure debug output

Jordan Lewis (:
      Only include irc.h when needed
      Only include db.h when we have to.
      Only included rpc.h when necessary
      Only include net.h when we have to
      Only include init.h when we have to
      Only include strlcpy.h when we have to
      Remove some globally unused headers from headers.h
      Only include certain boost headers if necessary.

Matt Corallo (5):
      Update translations and remove obsolete translations.
      Add new DNSSeed dnsseed.bluematt.me.
      Only use dnsseeds and static seeds when not on testnet.
      Make UPnP default on Bitcoin but not on Bitcoind.
      Give more detailed error messages for connection failure.

Pieter Wuille (5):
      move wallet code to separate file
      CWallet class
      Bugfixes walletclass
      Fix segfault when creating new wallet
      Limit response to getblocks to half of output buffer size

Shane Wegner (1):
      Fix missing includes needed for Boost 1.46.

Stéphane Gimenez (1):
      Fix AddressBook syncrhonization between a CWallet and CWalletDB

Wladimir J. van der Laan (1):
      add GetTotalBlocksEstimate() function, move magic number to constant

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[1715141793]

1715141793

[1715141793]

1715141793

[BitcoinPorn]

We had hoped to have wallet encryption ready for release, but more urgent fixes for existing clients were needed.  Wallet encryption is ready for testing at https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/pull/352 for the git-savvy, and -hopefully- will follow shortly in the next release, v0.4.

Thanks

[nanotube]

confirming that crash due to lack/loss of network connection is fixed in .24rc1

[jgarzik]

OSX build uploaded, new sums:

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[Serge]

I'm few releases behind and got some questions:

What's the best way to do the upgrade?  
Will it require to re-download blockchain and if so how would I go around that?  
Will the new release update my current wallet in regards to C4 change?

[geek-trader]

I'm few releases behind and got some questions:

What's the best way to do the upgrade?  
Will it require to re-download blockchain and if so how would I go around that?  
Will the new release update my current wallet in regards to C4 change?

I'm on a Mac, and I just replace the old app with the new one.  No re-download.  Don't know what the C4 change is  .

[Serge]

C4) Internal wallet code cleanup.  While invisible to an end user, this change provides the basis for v0.4's wallet encryption.

[done]

Great news. Excellent work.

[drrussellshane]

I want to make sure I am using the new updated client and not the old one installed on my computer.

I installed the new one, but when I open it and click on "help" in the toolbar and go to "About", I see:

"Bitcoin version 0.3.23-beta"


Was this forgotten, and simply not changed? Or am I just using the old version still and I installed the new new one wrong or something?

[Jaime Frontero]

still wondering about the correct upgrade procedure (for linux?)...

C4) Internal wallet code cleanup.  While invisible to an end user, this change provides the basis for v0.4's wallet encryption.

install 0.3.24, replace wallet.dat with the wallet.dat from the old (0.3.23) client, and -rescan?

or install 0.3.24, get a receiving address, and transfer all Bitcoin via the blockchain from old client to new?

[bcearl]

For my casual wallet I always use the current git version. I never had to reload the blockchain or anything.

There is no upgrade procedure but replacing the old version with the new one.

[Pieter Wuille]

The wallet.dat file has always been backward-compatible, and usually also forward-compatible. You should be able to install a new version without doing anything special. Always make sure you have a backup though.

[Pieter Wuille]

Will the new release update my current wallet in regards to C4 change?

The on-disk wallet format did not change, only the code to manage it did.

[Serge]

Will the new release update my current wallet in regards to C4 change?

The on-disk wallet format did not change, only the code to manage it did.

That's good to know. Thanks


Regarding question about upgrade I should have mentioned Windows in my earlier post.   
If I run install will the client update itself seamlessly or am I required to move wallet away and then replace new one with my wallet.dat and I would prefer not to re-scan anything if that's possible with installing upgrade.  As I've said before I'm few releases behind and haven't done any upgrading, being reluctant for the reason that I haven't seen clear instructions how to handle properly upgrades whether I should be doing anything more than just backing up my wallet or is it seamless process of simply running install exe.

[d.james]

Is this version worth it for me to upgrade from 3.20beta?

Does it support true zero-fee transactions? like in 3.20.

[netrin]

Bitcoin v0.3.24 release candidate #1 is now available for download at
https://sourceforge.net/projects/bitcoin/files/Bitcoin/bitcoin-0.3.24/test/

Great news! Congrats.

Wallet encryption is ready for testing at https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/pull/352 for the git-savvy, and -hopefully- will follow shortly in the next release, v0.4.

Even better news.

From github: "Although encryption of private keys in memory can be very useful on
desktop systems (as some small amount of protection against stupid viruses), on
an RPC server, the password is entered fairly insecurely.

Is this because the connection between client/app and the RPC server is in plaintext? Is there a forum discussion on the encrypted wallet implementation?

Gavin Andresen (1):
      Boost unit-testing framework.     make -f makefile.{unix,osx,mingw} test_b

Great. I expect unit testing will help bring more developers to the core project.

[Pieter Wuille]

From github: "Although encryption of private keys in memory can be very useful on
desktop systems (as some small amount of protection against stupid viruses), on
an RPC server, the password is entered fairly insecurely.

Is this because the connection between client/app and the RPC server is in plaintext? Is there a forum discussion on the encrypted wallet implementation?

It is because if someone manages to get access to a server's wallet.dat file, they are quite likely to be able to dump the passphrase from memory as well.

[Maged]

Will the new release update my current wallet in regards to C4 change?

The on-disk wallet format did not change, only the code to manage it did.

That's good to know. Thanks


Regarding question about upgrade I should have mentioned Windows in my earlier post.   
If I run install will the client update itself seamlessly or am I required to move wallet away and then replace new one with my wallet.dat and I would prefer not to re-scan anything if that's possible with installing upgrade.  As I've said before I'm few releases behind and haven't done any upgrading, being reluctant for the reason that I haven't seen clear instructions how to handle properly upgrades whether I should be doing anything more than just backing up my wallet or is it seamless process of simply running install exe.

It's completely seamless. Just be sure to back up your wallet, which you should be doing anyway.

[Bitsky]

I've tested the client on older systems to check two issues I encountered.

Original posts:
- http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=24841.msg308484#msg308484
- http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=24266.msg302002#msg302002


The client launches now again fine in Windows 2000 like pre-0.3.21 versions. For fun I also tried Windows 98, but (as expected) it won't work.

The issue with the "copied background" still exists (see http://picpaste.com/btc-VIcsfQft.png). It's merely a cosmetic problem and doesn't really impact the usage of the client at all. Just guessing here: maybe there's no default color/background set for that area?

Apart from that, it looks just fine. No crash during my test.

[Jazkal]

Are you going to add in other people's updates to the client?

http://coderrr.wordpress.com/2011/06/30/patching-the-bitcoin-client-to-make-it-more-anonymous/

Sounds like a good idea to me.