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CH01::Full node: clarify requirements; update "client" language to include "peer"

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- Full nodes don't need to store transactions long-term or serve data to
  other software, so mention those as option

- Stop calling full nodes "clients".  Add a tipbox describing that full
  nodes are the peers on Bitcoin's P2P network.
This commit is contained in:
David A. Harding 2023-02-03 09:58:35 -10:00
parent 1db8772e86
commit 89c40241e2
1 changed files with 20 additions and 9 deletions
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ch01.asciidoc
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@ -231,15 +231,13 @@ hardware signing device.
===== Full-node vs. Lightweight
Another way to categorize bitcoin wallets is by their degree of autonomy and how they interact with the Bitcoin network:
Full-node client:: ((("full-node clients")))A full client, or "full
node," is a client that stores the entire history of Bitcoin
transactions (every transaction by every user, ever), manages users'
wallets, and can initiate transactions directly on the Bitcoin network.
A full node handles all aspects of the protocol and can independently
validate the entire blockchain and any transaction. A full-node client
consumes substantial computer resources (e.g., more than 125 GB of disk,
2 GB of RAM) but offers complete autonomy and independent transaction
verification.
Full-node:: ((("full-node")))A full node is a program that validates the
entire history of Bitcoin transactions (every transaction by every user,
ever). Optionally, full nodes can also store previously validated
transactions and serve data to other Bitcoin programs, either on the
same computer or over the internet. A full node uses substantial
computer resources--about the same as watching a streaming video for an
hour--but offers complete autonomy to its users.
Lightweight client:: ((("lightweight
clients")))((("simplified-payment-verification (SPV)")))A lightweight
@ -257,6 +255,19 @@ connecting to the Bitcoin network directly. The wallet may be stored by
the user or by third-party servers, but all transactions go through a
third party.
[TIP]
====
Bitconin is a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) network. Full nodes are the *peers:*
each peer individually validates every confirmed transaction and can
provide data to its user with complete authority. Lightweight wallets
and other software are *clients:* each client depends on one or more peers
to provide it with valid data. Bitcoin clients can perform secondary
validation on some of the data they receive and make connections to
multiple peers to reduce their depedence on the integrity of a single
peer, but the security of a client ultimately relies on the integrity of
its peers.
====
===== Custodial vs. Non-Custodial
_Your keys, your coins. Not your keys, not your coins_.