[ANNOUNCE] Electrum - Lightweight Bitcoin Client

[Red Emerald]

Looks like libbitcoin is getting closer! I think there was some talk about using it once it was more stable.

[libbitcoin] First steps
This tutorial will create a simple program in Python using libbitcoin’s Python bindings to read the version information of a remote bitcoin node. We will need to connect to the bitcoin node and send it a version packet. The other bitcoin node should respond back with their own version packet which we can examine.

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[ThomasV]

Looks like libbitcoin is getting closer! I think there was some talk about using it once it was more stable.

yes this is something I have been watching closely.
for the last few weeks I have been working on adding new features to the client.
I will try to release 0.38 soon.

[ThomasV]

I just released Electrum version 0.38.

This version introduces new and experimental features: aliases and signed URIs

Aliases are dynamic pointers to Bitcoin addresses. They may be signed by a trusted authority, or self-signed.

Signed URIs are URIs that are signed by a merchant, with an address that is linked to the reputation of the merchant.
The goal is to provide a proof of payment for consumers (see https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=58534)

See here for a complete description of aliases and signed URIs: http://ecdsa.org/bitcoin_URIs.html
Of course it is possible to combine both: Merchants may have their main address signed by a trusted authority, and use that address in order to sign the URIs they give to their customers.

These features are still experimental, and they are very likely to evolve.
I plan to write a Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) for them later.
However, I believe that it is important to get feedback from users at an early stage.
This is why I went ahead and wrote a demonstrator.

Changelog:
* aliases and signed URIs (see http://ecdsa.org/bitcoin_URIs.html )
* 'signmessage' and 'verifymessage' commands, same syntax as in bitcoind
* 'eval' command, that evaluates a python statement. Use it to examine or modify the content of your wallet from the command line.
examples:

Code:

electrum eval wallet.aliases
electrum eval wallet.aliases.pop('an_alias')

[DiThi]

I've modified electrum and made a pull request:

Added two command line options for payto/mktx. From the help:
  -s FROM_ADDR, --fromaddr=FROM_ADDR
                        set source address for payto/mktx. if it isn't in the
                        wallet, it will ask for the private key unless
                        supplied in the format public_key:private_key. It's
                        not saved in the wallet.
  -c CHANGE_ADDR, --changeaddr=CHANGE_ADDR
                        set the change address for payto/mktx. default is a
                        spare address, or the source address if it's not in
                        the wallet

If you want to try it, type this in your git sources:

Code:

git pull git://gitorious.org/~dithi/electrum/electrum-dithi.git

Or clone my source tree directly:

Code:

git clone git://gitorious.org/~dithi/electrum/electrum-dithi.git

Example of use:

Code:

./electrum -f 0.0001 -s 1NDzf48J8e1HRRnzY9uy61kj8xCg3xu2wo:5JQzVBjwkFMxECaKw3GBU2DhtPuWnbo8QsjWvdcESDisBdxx4mX payto 1AUjykoX6ZFzgKfBfetfKVC36fxCLMNFp 1.5

Usually you should omit the private key, so it is asked to you as a password and it's not saved into console history:

Code:

./electrum -f 0.0001 -s 1NDzf48J8e1HRRnzY9uy61kj8xCg3xu2wo payto 1AUjykoX6ZFzgKfBfetfKVC36fxCLMNFp 1.5
Private key:

-f 0.0001 is the fee (by default it's 0.005 and it doesn't use the value saved in the settings), you can type 0 but it takes longer to confirm.

[ThomasV]

I've modified electrum and made a pull request:
Added two cli commands: payfromto and paytoch:
- payfromto makes a payment from a keypair given as argument without saving the keypair in the wallet or using any other address in it.
- paytoch is the same as payto but specifying a custom change address (useful for imported keys).

hi dithi,

thanks, these are nice functionalities.
I would suggest we add them as options, instead of full commands.

for example:

Code:

payto --fromaddr <addr>
payto --changeaddr <addr>

with options, it should be possible to apply these options to both 'mktx' and 'payto', and to combine them

[DiThi]

I would suggest we add them as options, instead of full commands.

Done. I'm changing my previous post to reflect the changes.

[ThomasV]

I would suggest we add them as options, instead of full commands.

Done. I'm changing my previous post to reflect the changes.

great, thanks. I just merged your code.

[ThomasV]

I released version 0.39 today
(sorry for the somewhat inconsistent release schedule; I believed that the following features would take me more time)

Changelog:
* two options have been added, for selecting transaction input and change address: --changeaddr, --fromaddr  [patch by DiThi]
* The status bar displays 'synchronizing' when the client is connected to the server, but is still waiting for history updates. (until now it was not showing this information)
* If the user's server is down, the client remains able to download the list of active servers, by sending queries to a default list.

edit: version 0.39b fixes a bug in the wallet creation procedure

[DiThi]

edit: version 0.39b fixes a bug in the wallet creation procedure

What bug? Now the code is prettier but it doesn't work. I've added 3 lines and made a pull request.

Edit: updated pull request with two fixes.

[ThomasV]

what bug?

oh that was not related to your patch

Now the code is prettier but it doesn't work. I've added 3 lines and made a pull request.

Edit: updated pull request with two fixes.

thanks, I just merged it.

[ThomasV]

I am pleased to announce that  the upcoming release of Electrum (version 0.40) will include a Qt GUI
This is a much needed feature, because gtk applications are difficult to run under Windows.

The new GUI is now fully functional in the git repository, and is being tested.
During that time, it would be fantastic if someone could check if Electrum-Qt work under Windows.

Screenshot:

[SgtSpike]

I'll test it if there's an .exe...?

[finway]

it would be fantastic if someone could check if Electrum-Qt work under Windows.

Just tested it, python27 with slowaes&pyqt4 installed.

python gui_qt.py

nothing happend, nothing prompted.

Strange.

[ThomasV]

it would be fantastic if someone could check if Electrum-Qt work under Windows.

Just tested it, python27 with slowaes&pyqt4 installed.

python gui_qt.py

nothing happend, nothing prompted.

Strange.

try to execute the file named 'electrum'

[finway]

How? it's Windows, it's not a .exe file, it's not a .py file too.

[ThomasV]

How? it's Windows, it's not a .exe file, it's not a .py file too.

can't you do 'python electrum' ?

[finway]

How? it's Windows, it's not a .exe file, it's not a .py file too.

can't you do 'python electrum' ?

Finally, got Electrum run on Windows XP.
Nice!

[ThomasV]

Finally, got Electrum run on Windows XP.
Nice!

nice to hear that it works!

[BitcoinBug]

It doesn't work for me 

> python electrum
could not import icons_rp.py
generate it with: 'pyrcc4 icons.qrc -o icons_rc.py'

[ThomasV]

It doesn't work for me 

> python electrum
could not import icons_rp.py
generate it with: 'pyrcc4 icons.qrc -o icons_rc.py'

that is is normal.
if you don't know how to generate this file, just wait for the release;
all the dependencies will be included in the package