go-algorand

Algorand's official implementation in Go.

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Quick Overview

Go-algorand is the official implementation of the Algorand blockchain protocol, written in Go. It provides the core functionality for running Algorand nodes, participating in consensus, and interacting with the Algorand network. This repository contains the source code for the Algorand node software and related tools.

Pros

High performance and scalability due to its Pure Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism
Strong security features and cryptographic foundations
Active development and regular updates from the Algorand team
Comprehensive documentation and developer resources

Cons

Relatively complex codebase for newcomers to blockchain development
Limited ecosystem compared to some more established blockchain platforms
Requires significant computational resources to run a full node
Steep learning curve for understanding the intricacies of the Algorand protocol

Code Examples

Creating a new account:

account := crypto.GenerateAccount()
address := account.Address.String()
privateKey := account.PrivateKey

Connecting to an Algorand node:

algodClient, err := algod.MakeClient(algodAddress, algodToken)
if err != nil {
    log.Fatal("Failed to create algod client:", err)
}

Sending a transaction:

txParams, err := algodClient.SuggestedParams().Do(context.Background())
if err != nil {
    log.Fatal("Error getting suggested params:", err)
}

tx, err := transaction.MakePaymentTxn(sender, receiver, amount, note, closeRemainderTo, txParams)
if err != nil {
    log.Fatal("Error creating transaction:", err)
}

signedTx, err := tx.Sign(senderPrivateKey)
if err != nil {
    log.Fatal("Error signing transaction:", err)
}

txID, err := algodClient.SendRawTransaction(signedTx).Do(context.Background())
if err != nil {
    log.Fatal("Error sending transaction:", err)
}

Getting Started

To get started with go-algorand:

Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/algorand/go-algorand.git

Install dependencies:

cd go-algorand
./scripts/install_deps.sh

Build the project:
```
make build
```
Run a node:
```
./goal node start
```

For more detailed instructions and configuration options, refer to the official Algorand documentation.

Competitor Comparisons

go

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Stellar's public monorepo of go code

Pros of Stellar

More extensive documentation and examples
Larger community and ecosystem
Better support for cross-border payments and asset issuance

Cons of Stellar

Less focus on smart contracts compared to Algorand
Lower theoretical transaction throughput
More complex consensus mechanism

Code Comparison

Stellar (transaction creation):

tx, err := txnbuild.NewTransaction(
    txnbuild.TransactionParams{
        SourceAccount:        &sourceAccount,
        IncrementSequenceNum: true,
        Operations:           []txnbuild.Operation{&payment},
        BaseFee:              txnbuild.MinBaseFee,
        Timebounds:           txnbuild.NewTimeout(300),
    },
)

Algorand (transaction creation):

tx, err := future.MakePaymentTxn(from, to, amount, note, closeRemainderTo, genesisID, genesisHash)
if err != nil {
    return
}

Both repositories provide Go implementations for their respective blockchain platforms. Stellar focuses on creating a global payment network, while Algorand emphasizes scalability and security. Stellar's codebase is more mature and has a larger ecosystem, but Algorand offers more advanced smart contract capabilities and a simpler consensus mechanism. The code examples show that Stellar's transaction creation is more verbose, while Algorand's is more concise.

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Pros of Cosmos SDK

More flexible and customizable for building application-specific blockchains
Larger ecosystem with multiple interconnected chains (Cosmos Hub, Osmosis, etc.)
Stronger focus on interoperability between different blockchains

Cons of Cosmos SDK

Higher complexity and steeper learning curve for developers
Potentially slower transaction finality compared to Algorand's pure proof-of-stake
Less emphasis on layer-1 scalability, relying more on application-specific chains

Code Comparison

Cosmos SDK (Go):

func (app *SimApp) InitChainer(ctx sdk.Context, req abci.RequestInitChain) abci.ResponseInitChain {
    var genesisState GenesisState
    if err := tmjson.Unmarshal(req.AppStateBytes, &genesisState); err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }
    return app.mm.InitGenesis(ctx, app.appCodec, genesisState)
}

Go-Algorand:

func (l *Ledger) InitState(genesisInitState InitState) error {
    l.trackerMu.Lock()
    defer l.trackerMu.Unlock()

    l.genesisHash = genesisInitState.GenesisHash
    l.genesisProto = genesisInitState.GenesisProto
    return l.accts.initAccounts(genesisInitState.Accounts)
}

The code snippets show different approaches to chain initialization, with Cosmos SDK using a modular approach and Go-Algorand focusing on ledger-specific initialization.

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Pros of go-ethereum

Larger and more established community, with extensive documentation and resources
Supports smart contracts with Turing-complete functionality
More widely adopted and battle-tested in production environments

Cons of go-ethereum

Higher transaction fees and slower transaction finality compared to Algorand
More complex consensus mechanism (Proof of Work transitioning to Proof of Stake)
Higher energy consumption due to its current Proof of Work consensus

Code Comparison

go-ethereum (Ethereum):

func (s *Ethereum) Start() error {
    if err := s.startEthService(); err != nil {
        return err
    }
    return nil
}

go-algorand (Algorand):

func (node *AlgorandFullNode) Start() error {
    node.mu.Lock()
    defer node.mu.Unlock()
    if node.running {
        return fmt.Errorf("node already running")
    }
    node.running = true
    return nil
}

Both repositories implement a Start() function for their respective nodes, but go-algorand includes additional checks for the node's running state and uses a mutex for thread safety.

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Pros of Tendermint

More flexible and modular architecture, allowing for easier customization
Broader ecosystem support and integration with various blockchain frameworks
More mature project with longer development history and wider adoption

Cons of Tendermint

Higher complexity due to its modular design, potentially steeper learning curve
May require more configuration and setup compared to Go-Algorand's streamlined approach
Potentially lower performance in certain scenarios due to its consensus mechanism

Code Comparison

Tendermint (consensus voting):

func (cs *State) signVote(type_ tmproto.SignedMsgType, hash []byte, header tmproto.PartSetHeader) (*types.Vote, error) {
    addr := cs.privValidator.GetPubKey().Address()
    valIdx, _ := cs.Validators.GetByAddress(addr)
    vote := &types.Vote{
        ValidatorAddress: addr,
        ValidatorIndex:   valIdx,
        Height:           cs.Height,
        Round:            cs.Round,
        Timestamp:        cs.voteTime(),
        Type:             type_,
        BlockID:          types.BlockID{Hash: hash, PartSetHeader: header},
    }
    err := cs.privValidator.SignVote(cs.state.ChainID, vote)
    return vote, err
}

Go-Algorand (block proposal):

func (p *player) proposalForBlock(ve *ledger.ValidatedBlock) (proposal proposalValue, err error) {
    proposal = proposalValue{
        Original: ve,
        Digest:   ve.Digest(),
    }
    proposal.EncodingDigest = crypto.HashObj(proposal)
    return
}

These code snippets showcase different approaches to consensus mechanisms and block proposals in the two projects.

fabric

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Pros of Fabric

More mature and widely adopted in enterprise environments
Flexible architecture supporting multiple consensus mechanisms
Rich ecosystem with extensive documentation and tooling

Cons of Fabric

Higher complexity and steeper learning curve
Potentially slower transaction finality compared to Algorand
More resource-intensive to set up and maintain

Code Comparison

Fabric (Chaincode in Go):

func (s *SmartContract) CreateAsset(ctx contractapi.TransactionContextInterface, id string, value int) error {
    asset := Asset{ID: id, Value: value}
    assetJSON, err := json.Marshal(asset)
    if err != nil {
        return err
    }
    return ctx.GetStub().PutState(id, assetJSON)
}

Algorand (Smart Contract in PyTeal):

def approval_program():
    on_creation = Seq([
        App.globalPut(Bytes("Creator"), Txn.sender()),
        Return(Int(1))
    ])
    program = Cond(
        [Txn.application_id() == Int(0), on_creation],
        [Txn.on_completion() == OnComplete.OptIn, Return(Int(1))],
        [Txn.on_completion() == OnComplete.CloseOut, Return(Int(1))]
    )
    return program

Both repositories offer robust blockchain solutions, but Fabric is more suited for complex enterprise applications, while Algorand focuses on high performance and simplicity.

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README

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go-algorand

Algorand's official implementation in Go.

Algorand is a permissionless, pure proof-of-stake blockchain that delivers decentralization, scalability, security, and transaction finality.

Getting Started

Our developer website has the most up to date information about using and installing the Algorand platform.

Building from source

Development is done using the Go Programming Language. The version of go is specified in the project's go.mod file. This document assumes that you have a functioning environment setup. If you need assistance setting up an environment please visit the official Go documentation website.

Linux / OSX

We currently strive to support Debian-based distributions with Ubuntu 20.04 being our official release target. Building on Arch Linux works as well. Our core engineering team uses Linux and OSX, so both environments are well supported for development.

OSX only: Homebrew (brew) must be installed before continuing. Here are the installation requirements.

Initial environment setup:

git clone https://github.com/algorand/go-algorand
cd go-algorand
./scripts/configure_dev.sh
./scripts/buildtools/install_buildtools.sh

At this point, you are ready to build go-algorand. We use make and have a number of targets to automate common tasks.

build

make install

test

# unit tests
make test

# integration tests
make integration

style and checks

make fmt
make lint
make fix
make vet

or alternatively

make sanity

Running a node

Once the software is built you'll find binaries in ${GOPATH}/bin, and a data directory will be initialized at ~/.algorand. Start your node with ${GOPATH}/bin/goal node start -d ~/.algorand, use ${GOPATH}/bin/carpenter -d ~/.algorand to see activity. Refer to the developer website for how to use the different tools.

Providing your own data directory

You can run a node out of other directories than ~/.algorand and join networks other than mainnet. Just make a new directory and copy into it the genesis.json file for the network. For example:

mkdir ~/testnet_data
cp installer/genesis/testnet/genesis.json ~/testnet_data/genesis.json
${GOPATH}/bin/goal node start -d ~/testnet_data

Genesis files for mainnet, testnet, and betanet can be found in installer/genesis/.

Contributing

Please refer to our CONTRIBUTING document.

Project Layout

go-algorand is split into various subsystems containing various packages.

Core

Provides core functionality to the algod and kmd daemons, as well as other tools and commands:

crypto contains the cryptographic constructions we're using for hashing, signatures, and VRFs. There are also some Algorand-specific details here about spending keys, protocols keys, one-time-use signing keys, and how they relate to each other.
config holds configuration parameters. These include parameters used locally by the node as well as parameters that must be agreed upon by the protocol.
data defines various types used throughout the codebase.
- basics hold basic types such as MicroAlgos, account data, and addresses.
- account defines accounts, including "root" accounts (which can spend money) and "participation" accounts (which can participate in the agreement protocol).
- transactions define transactions that accounts can issue against the Algorand state. These include standard payments and also participation key registration transactions.
- bookkeeping defines blocks, which are batches of transactions atomically committed to Algorand.
- pools implement the transaction pool. The transaction pool holds transactions seen by a node in memory before they are proposed in a block.
- committee implements the credentials that authenticate a participating account's membership in the agreement protocol.
ledger (README) contains the Algorand Ledger state machine, which holds the sequence of blocks. The Ledger executes the state transitions that result from applying these blocks. It answers queries on blocks (e.g., what transactions were in the last committed block?) and on accounts (e.g., what is my balance?).
protocol declares constants used to identify protocol versions, tags for routing network messages, and prefixes for domain separation of cryptographic inputs. It also implements the canonical encoder.
network contains the code for participating in a mesh network based on WebSockets. Maintains connection to some number of peers, (optionally) accepts connections from peers, sends point to point and broadcast messages, and receives messages routing them to various handler code (e.g. agreement/gossip/network.go registers three handlers).
- rpcs contains the HTTP RPCs used by algod processes to query one another.
agreement (README) contains the agreement service, which implements Algorand's Byzantine Agreement protocol. This protocol allows participating accounts to quickly confirm blocks in a fork-safe manner, provided that sufficient account stake is correctly executing the protocol.
node integrates the components above and handles initialization and shutdown. It provides queries into these components.

Daemon

Contains the two daemons which provide Algorand clients with services:

daemon/algod holds the algod daemon, which implements a participating node. algod allows a node to participate in the agreement protocol, submit and confirm transactions, and view the state of the Algorand Ledger.
- daemon/algod/api (README) is the REST interface used for interactions with algod.
daemon/kmd (README) holds the kmd daemon. This daemon allows a node to sign transactions. Because kmd is separate from algod, kmd allows a user to sign transactions on an air-gapped computer.

Interfacing

Allows developers to interface with the Algorand system:

cmd holds the primary commands defining entry points into the system.
- cmd/catchupsrv (README) is a tool to assist with processing historic blocks on a new node.
libgoal exports a Go interface useful for developers of Algorand clients.
tools (README) various tools and utilities without a better place to go.
tools/debug holds secondary commands which assist developers during debugging.
tools/misc (README) small tools that are sometimes handy in a pinch.

Deployment

Help Algorand developers deploy networks of their own:

nodecontrol
docker
commandandcontrol (README) is a tool to automate a network of algod instances.
components
netdeploy

Utilities

Provides utilities for the various components:

logging is a wrapper around logrus.
util contains a variety of utilities, including a codec, a SQLite wrapper, a goroutine pool, a timer interface, node metrics, and more.

Test

test (README) contains end-to-end tests and utilities for the above components.

License

Please see the COPYING_FAQ for details about how to apply our license.

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