Functionality?

[sunny-g]

Not really an issue to submit, but what is the current functionality of the project?

[cornwarecjp]

So far, there is not much functionality. You can create payment links with other nodes, and they will automatically connect and re-connect, but they are not used yet. You can also request a payment and agree to pay a payment request, but when you do so, the application will block, since only a part of the payment protocol is finished so far.

This is the plan for adding future functionality:

• Finish the payment protocol for payment on the local node "payment to yourself"
• Implement payment routing between different nodes
• Protect the link state with a Bitcoin micro-transaction channel
• Clean up some things (fix TODO's, fix known security issues, and add missing unit tests) I think, at that point, I think I'll make a first release. But it will take several months for me to get there.

Do you want to join? I can try to find some jobs for you which are easy to separate from the work I'm doing.

[sunny-g]

So payments currently only work from address to address directly?

I've only just started coding something other than simple html sites, but I'm all ears if you have a simpler task that needs doing.

[cornwarecjp]

As you can see, I've re-implemented most things in Python. In the Python version, you can now actually complete a transaction (to yourself):

• Use the 'request' command to request a payment. Output is a payment URL.
• Use the 'pay' command to pay (give it the URL as argument).

For now, such a transaction has no effect at all:

• No balances are changed
• No Bitcoin transactions are created, updated or put in the block chain

However, as you can see in the log file, such a transaction does actually take all the essential steps of the payment protocol (so far in a very trivial way).

I think it would be a good idea if we agree on a functionality set that's required to close this issue. How about:

• Two different Amiko nodes can share a payment link
• They can deposit/withdraw real bitcoins into/from the link
• The balance of the link is adjusted according to payments between each other

[cornwarecjp]

I think Amiko Pay now more or less contains the promised functionality: although essential security features are still absent (so using it "for real" is not recommended!), it is now possible to send transactions.

Can this issue be closed, in your opinion?