separator witness: a deep immersion in Ethereum transactions

While we deal with the subtleties of the block structure of Ethereum, a concept stands out as particularly fascinating: separate witness (SW). In this article we will examine what a SW transaction looks like and how it works in the Ethereum network.

Electricity transaction structure

A typical Ethereum transaction consists of several components:

• Version : A byte array that defines the transaction type (e.g. 0x01 for a normal transaction).

• Inputcount

  : A integer that specifies the number of input parameters.

• [TXID] : The ID of the previous block.

• …

separate witness transaction structure

A SW transaction is similar to an ordinary Ethereum transaction, but with an important difference:

• Instead of saving the entire input data in a single byte array, each input parameter is saved separately.

• Each input parameter is preceded with a 0x01 byte (the Segwit prefix).

• The transaction also contains additional metadata such as the sender and recipient’s public keys.

Here is an example of a SW transaction:

`

Version | 0x01 | [TXID] …

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^

| 0x1a | [Inputparam1]

| 0x1e | [Inputparam2]

Version | 0x02 | [TXID] …

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^

| 0x19 | [Inputparam3]

`

As you can see, each input parameter with the Segwit Prefix 0x01" is preceded and followed by its respective public key. This enables more efficient storage of input data and reduces the risk of key collisions.

How separate witness works

If a user sends a SW transaction to the Ethereum network, it is checked by the network nodes using the following steps:

• Transaction analysis : The public key of the sender and the recipient's public key are extracted from the transaction.

• Entry parameter extraction : Each input parameter is identified and the corresponding public key is accessed.

• Prefix removal

  : The Segwit prefix0x01` is removed, which shows the raw input data.

• Review : The resulting input data is verified by the network nodes with the Merkle tree or other hash-based review mechanisms.

Advantages of the separate witness

The separate witness offers several advantages:

* Efficient memory : Each input parameter can be saved independently, which reduces the memory use and improves scalability.

* improved security : Reduced key collisions and increased randomness in input data make SW safer.

* improved performance : Faster transaction processing times are achieved due to the reduced overhead to check each input parameter.

In summary, a separate witness is a strong concept that improves the efficiency, security and performance of Ethereum transactions. If we understand how SW works, we can better estimate the subtleties of the Ethereum network and examine the potential to improve the entire user experience.