The time has come for yet another weekly development report. This week has been one filled with progress, with solutions found and applied to all outstanding issues related to Particl V3.
However, to ensure that the fixes work as intended, and before officially marking them as fully resolved, we've decided to go ahead with one more round of community testing that should begin within the next few days. That'll also allow the team to monitor an interim solution that's been applied to the tricky ZMQ issue (more details further below).
This coming testnet round will be a public one, and we'll be putting extra focus on testing the applied fixes with the specific people who've initially reported them to ensure they're fixed on their environment. If no new problem arises, Particl V3 will then be ready for its mainnet release.
Let's get down to the details of this week's report!
Particl V3 Development Update Report
Gracefully Shutting Down the Marketplace
The MP service needed a means of gracefully shutting down. Before, the process simply terminated, which could lead to potential issues in some edge cases.
A solution has been found and applied. We'll be waiting for the coming testnet round to confirm this issue as fully resolved.
Changing the ZMQ Node Library
This specific issue has proven quite problematic, mainly due to the ZMQ library itself. Since we've started working on it, many back-and-forths using different library versions have happened and they've all produced errors one way or the other. Unfortunately, no out-of-the-box and fit-all solution has been found. But, regardless, we have some good news to report.
In the interest of moving forward, we have opted to apply an interim solution that will allow Particl V3 to be released with a user-friendly and enjoyable experience for all operating systems. The interim solution is as follows.
On one hand, Linux and Mac distributions will be using a version of ZMQ (version 6) that works perfectly on these platforms. Users of these operating systems won't experience any sort of issue or negative performance impact when using Particl V3. ZMQ 6.0 is the optimal solution for these two platforms.
On the other hand, Windows build will leverage a different version of ZMQ (version 5.2.6) which maximizes the performance within what's possible. While not entirely perfect, it works fine and will allow Windows users to experience Particl V3 with as fewer performance issues as ZMQ on Windows permits. This, too, is the optimal solution for Windows given what's available. This is more or less outside of our control, and we plan on fixing that issue as we move forward (keep reading for more details about this).
Because ZMQ 5.2.6 causes issues on other OSes, we've opted to use different library versions depending on the OS. That means the code between builds intended for Windows and those intended for Mac/Linux will be slightly different, which is not ideal development-wise but allows us to release Particl V3. As a more elegant solution, we are considering forking the ZMQ library and tweaking it according to our specific needs. That would ultimately provide a single solution that works across the board, but it might lead to slightly more maintenance requirements until a fix for Windows appears "upstream". We will investigate this potential solution as we move forward.
We will be monitoring the results of the interim solution during the coming testnet round and will report back if there's any change to this proposed temporary solution.
Note: Not all Windows environments experience performance issues with ZMQ. Some Windows users will never experience any issue. For those users working within a Windows environment that causes performance issues with ZMQ, most of the problems happen while the blockchain syncs. The issues tend to noticeably reduce in scope post-syncing.
Listing Template Hashes Not Properly Saved Under Specific Circumstances
There was an issue that could occur under a specific set of circumstances where the posting of a template removed its hash, leading to problems with accepting bids.
This item is likely fixed now, but just like the previous two items, we want to wait for the results of the coming testnet round before officially marking this one as fully resolved.
Particl Core Development Update Report
Improved Cold Staking Zap Feature Now Integrated Into Particl V3
The improved zap feature mentioned in last week's progress report has now been integrated into the new Particl V3 build and will be available for testing during the coming testnet round.
We highly encourage you to test it out and, as always, do your best to try to break it!
Particl Core Merging
As usual, Particl Core has received many merges and updates to keep its code up-to-date with Bitcoin's latest version. This is an ever-ongoing task that needs to receive constant attention.
As we near the mainnet release of Particl V3, we encourage you to test the upcoming testnet build and see if you can find any issue with it.
Finding bugs, unexpected behaviors, and areas of improvements during testnet helps straighten up Particl V3 for its mainnet release and vastly improves the first impression new users get when they first get their hands on it. While bug discovery may delay mainnet releases, they are vital in keeping Particl secure and appealing.
As always, we thank you all for your support and dedication. You are what makes Particl possible, and the entire Particl team is incredibly grateful!
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