In our previous Flipstarter campaign, which can be reviewed here, we made a series of commitments to our supportive community. Today, we are excited to share our progress on one of those pivotal promises. The Knuth team, in its quest for optimization, has successfully compiled the GMP library for WebAssembly, marking a significant milestone in our journey to integrate Knuth into the web browser environment.

Bitcoin Cash, with its revolutionary approach to digital currency, has always fostered a robust development ecosystem. The subsequent sections delve into the intricacies of GMP, WebAssembly, and the pivotal role of the secp256k1 library in the realm of Bitcoin Cash.

A Deep Dive into GMP

The GNU Multiple Precision Arithmetic Library (GMP) is an open-source library crafted for arithmetic operations on integers, rational numbers, and floating-point numbers. Known for its performance and efficiency, GMP provides precise control over arithmetic results, even for numbers with thousands of digits. Its adaptability and comprehensive arithmetic solutions make it a cornerstone for cryptographic operations, especially in blockchain technologies like Bitcoin Cash.

WebAssembly: The Web's Assembly Line

WebAssembly, colloquially known as WASM, is a binary instruction format for a stack-based virtual machine. What makes it so pivotal? It offers near-native performance by executing code at lightning-fast speeds. WebAssembly was designed as a portable target for the compilation of high-level languages, allowing deployment on the web for client and server applications. In essence, WASM bridges the gap between JavaScript and native performance, allowing heavy computational tasks to run smoothly in browser environments.

Elliptical Underpinnings: The secp256k1 Library

Diving deeper into the cryptographic realm, the secp256k1 library emerges as a paramount component. It is primarily used for the signature and verification processes in elliptic curve cryptography, the very backbone of Bitcoin Cash's security mechanism. In the realm of digital currencies, it is the elliptic curve's unique properties that guarantee the security of transactions and wallet addresses.

Knuth’s Aspirations: A Wallet in Your Browser

With GMP and secp256k1 as foundational elements of any Bitcoin Cash node, Knuth aims to transition this robust functionality directly into web browsers. Although testing is in its embryonic stages, the Knuth team is optimistic about outperforming JavaScript-based competitors in terms of efficiency and speed. Beyond merely refining its own product, Knuth envisions its innovations benefiting other JavaScript Wallet projects like libauth. In the future, these projects can seamlessly integrate functionalities offered by the Knuth Wallet to enhance performance in critical areas.

Open Source: The Knuth Way

The Knuth development team, true to the spirit of open-source collaboration, has not kept these accomplishments exclusive. They've also enhanced the Conan package of GMP with WebAssembly support. But what is Conan? It's a decentralized C/C++ package manager, simplifying the integration and use of libraries in C and C++ projects.

Instructions for Testing Knuth's GMP Integration in WebAssembly

For those eager to witness the fruits of our labor firsthand and test the advancements we've made with the GMP library and WebAssembly integration, please follow the outlined steps. The following provides a comprehensive guide to setting up the required environment:

1. Install Emscripten:

   Follow the official installation guide on the Emscripten website: Emscripten Downloads & Setup.

2. Verify Emscripten Installation:

   Use the command:

   em++ --version

   Expected output:

   emcc (Emscripten gcc/clang-like replacement + linker emulating GNU ld) 3.1.44 (bec42dac7873903d09d713963e34020c22a8bd2d)

   Copyright (C) 2014 the Emscripten authors (see AUTHORS.txt)

   This is free and open source software under the MIT license.

   There is NO warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

3. Install Conan (Python and pip are required):

   Use the command:

   pip install conan --user --upgrade

4. Verify Conan Installation:

   Use the command:

   conan --version

   Expected output:

   Conan version 2.0.13

5. Create a New Conan Profile for Emscripten:

   Navigate to the appropriate directory and create a new file:

   touch $HOME/.conan2/profiles/ems

   Add the following content to the created file:

   [settings]

   arch=wasm

   build_type=Release

   compiler=clang

   compiler.libcxx=libc++

   compiler.version=20.emsdk-3.1.44

   os=Emscripten

   [tool_requires]

   *: emsdk/3.1.44

   [buildenv]

   HOST_CC=$(which gcc)

   [conf]

   tools.files.download:retry=5

   tools.files.download:retry_wait=2

   tools.build:cflags=['-mmutable-globals', '-mreference-types', '-mbulk-memory', '-mnontrapping-fptoint', '-msign-ext']

   tools.build:cxxflags=['-mmutable-globals', '-mreference-types', '-mbulk-memory', '-mnontrapping-fptoint', '-msign-ext']

6. Install the Latest Version of GMP for WebAssembly using Conan:

   Utilize the following command:

   conan install --requires=gmp/6.3.0 --update --build=missing -pr ems

After completing these steps, you will have successfully set up the environment to test the integration of the GMP library into WebAssembly, courtesy of the Knuth team. We invite feedback and encourage our community to share their experiences. This endeavor represents a major leap forward in our mission to optimize Knuth for the web, and your insights are invaluable as we continue to refine and expand our offerings.

A Monumental Leap in Knuth's Evolution: Looking Ahead

Successfully porting the GMP library to WebAssembly isn't just a milestone; it's a massive stride forward in our mission to optimize Knuth for the web. With this accomplishment under our belt, we stand at the threshold of a transformative phase for Knuth.

Yet, our ambition doesn't halt here. We're now poised to embark on the challenge of porting all other Knuth modules to WebAssembly. On our radar are the modules of: secp256k1, infrastructure, domain, consensus, database, blockchain, node, and c-api.

One essential caveat to note is the Network module. Due to the current limitations of WebAssembly with TCP sockets, porting it remains, for the time being, out of reach. However, with the rapid evolution of technology, we hold hope for finding solutions to this hurdle in the near future.

In essence, this achievement marks the start of a promising journey. We invite our community to join us on this trek, to innovate, and to elevate Knuth to new heights. With the combined might of our technology and our community's passion, we're thrilled for what's on the horizon.

Knuth's journey from its genesis to its current state underscores its commitment to advancing Bitcoin Cash's ecosystem. With these new developments, Knuth is not only elevating its own platform but is also setting the stage for collaborative advancements in the wider BCH community.