path: root/bip-0158.mediawiki

<pre>
  BIP: 158
  Layer: Peer Services
  Title: Compact Block Filters for Light Clients
  Author: Olaoluwa Osuntokun <laolu32@gmail.com>
          Alex Akselrod <alex@akselrod.org>
  Comments-Summary: None yet
  Comments-URI: https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/wiki/Comments:BIP-0158
  Status: Draft
  Type: Standards Track
  Created: 2017-05-24
  License: CC0-1.0
</pre>


== Abstract ==

This BIP describes a structure for compact filters on block data, for use in the
BIP 157 light client protocol<ref>bip-0157.mediawiki</ref>. The filter
construction proposed is an alternative to Bloom filters, as used in BIP 37,
that minimizes filter size by using Golomb-Rice coding for compression. This
document specifies one initial filter type based on this construction that
enables basic wallets and applications with more advanced smart contracts.

== Motivation ==

[[bip-0157.mediawiki|BIP 157]] defines a light client protocol based on
deterministic filters of block content. The filters are designed to
minimize the expected bandwidth consumed by light clients, downloading filters
and full blocks. This document defines the initial filter type ''basic''
that is designed to reduce the filter size for regular wallets.

== Definitions ==

<code>[]byte</code> represents a vector of bytes.

<code>[N]byte</code> represents a fixed-size byte array with length N.

''CompactSize'' is a compact encoding of unsigned integers used in the Bitcoin
P2P protocol.

''Bit streams'' are readable and writable streams of individual bits. The
following functions are used in the pseudocode in this document:
* <code>new_bit_stream</code> instantiates a new writable bit stream
* <code>new_bit_stream(vector)</code> instantiates a new bit stream reading data from <code>vector</code>
* <code>write_bit(stream, b)</code> appends the bit <code>b</code> to the end of the stream
* <code>read_bit(stream)</code> reads the next available bit from the stream
* <code>write_bits_big_endian(stream, n, k)</code> appends the <code>k</code> least significant bits of integer <code>n</code> to the end of the stream in big-endian bit order
* <code>read_bits_big_endian(stream, k)</code> reads the next available <code>k</code> bits from the stream and interprets them as the least significant bits of a big-endian integer

The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD",
"SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be
interpreted as described in RFC 2119.

== Specification ==

=== Golomb-Coded Sets ===

For each block, compact filters are derived containing sets of items associated
with the block (eg. addresses sent to, outpoints spent, etc.). A set of such
data objects is compressed into a probabilistic structure called a
''Golomb-coded set'' (GCS), which matches all items in the set with probability
1, and matches other items with probability <code>1/M</code> for some
integer parameter <code>M</code>. The encoding is also parameterized by
<code>P</code>, the bit length of the remainder code. Each filter defined
specifies values for <code>P</code> and <code>M</code>.

At a high level, a GCS is constructed from a set of <code>N</code> items by:
# hashing all items to 64-bit integers in the range <code>[0, N * M)</code>
# sorting the hashed values in ascending order
# computing the differences between each value and the previous one
# writing the differences sequentially, compressed with Golomb-Rice coding

The following sections describe each step in greater detail.

==== Hashing Data Objects ====

The first step in the filter construction is hashing the variable-sized raw
items in the set to the range <code>[0, F)</code>, where <code>F = N *
M</code>. Customarily, <code>M</code> is set to <code>2^P</code>. However, if
one is able to select both Parameters independently, then more optimal values
can be
selected<ref>https://gist.github.com/sipa/576d5f09c3b86c3b1b75598d799fc845</ref>.
Set membership queries against the hash outputs will have a false positive rate
of <code>M</code>. To avoid integer overflow, the number of items <code>N</code>
MUST be <2^32 and <code>M</code> MUST be <2^32.

The items are first passed through the pseudorandom function ''SipHash'', which
takes a 128-bit key <code>k</code> and a variable-sized byte vector and produces
a uniformly random 64-bit output. Implementations of this BIP MUST use the
SipHash parameters <code>c = 2</code> and <code>d = 4</code>.

The 64-bit SipHash outputs are then mapped uniformly over the desired range by
multiplying with F and taking the top 64 bits of the 128-bit result. This
algorithm is a faster alternative to modulo reduction, as it avoids the
expensive division
operation<ref>https://lemire.me/blog/2016/06/27/a-fast-alternative-to-the-modulo-reduction/</ref>.
Note that care must be taken when implementing this reduction to ensure the
upper 64 bits of the integer multiplication are not truncated; certain
architectures and high level languages may require code that decomposes the
64-bit multiplication into four 32-bit multiplications and recombines into the
result.

<pre>
hash_to_range(item: []byte, F: uint64, k: [16]byte) -> uint64:
    return (siphash(k, item) * F) >> 64

hashed_set_construct(raw_items: [][]byte, k: [16]byte, M: uint) -> []uint64:
    let N = len(raw_items)
    let F = N * M

    let set_items = []

    for item in raw_items:
        let set_value = hash_to_range(item, F, k)
        set_items.append(set_value)

    return set_items
</pre>

==== Golomb-Rice Coding ====

Instead of writing the items in the hashed set directly to the filter, greater
compression is achieved by only writing the differences between successive
items in sorted order. Since the items are distributed uniformly, it can be
shown that the differences resemble a geometric
distribution<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geometric_distribution</ref>.
''Golomb-Rice''
''coding''<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golomb_coding#Rice_coding</ref>
is a technique that optimally compresses geometrically distributed values.

With Golomb-Rice, a value is split into a quotient and remainder modulo
<code>2^P</code>, which are encoded separately. The quotient <code>q</code> is
encoded as ''unary'', with a string of <code>q</code> 1's followed by one 0. The
remainder <code>r</code> is represented in big-endian by P bits. For example,
this is a table of Golomb-Rice coded values using <code>P=2</code>:

{| class="wikitable"
! n !! (q, r) !! c
|-
| 0 || (0, 0) || <code>0 00</code>
|-
| 1 || (0, 1) || <code>0 01</code>
|-
| 2 || (0, 2) || <code>0 10</code>
|-
| 3 || (0, 3) || <code>0 11</code>
|-
| 4 || (1, 0) || <code>10 00</code>
|-
| 5 || (1, 1) || <code>10 01</code>
|-
| 6 || (1, 2) || <code>10 10</code>
|-
| 7 || (1, 3) || <code>10 11</code>
|-
| 8 || (2, 0) || <code>110 00</code>
|-
| 9 || (2, 1) || <code>110 01</code>
|}

<pre>
golomb_encode(stream, x: uint64, P: uint):
    let q = x >> P

    while q > 0:
        write_bit(stream, 1)
        q--
    write_bit(stream, 0)

    write_bits_big_endian(stream, x, P)

golomb_decode(stream, P: uint) -> uint64:
    let q = 0
    while read_bit(stream) == 1:
        q++

    let r = read_bits_big_endian(stream, P)

    let x = (q << P) + r
    return x
</pre>

==== Set Construction ====

A GCS is constructed from four parameters:
* <code>L</code>, a vector of <code>N</code> raw items
* <code>P</code>, the bit parameter of the Golomb-Rice coding
* <code>M</code>, the target false positive rate
* <code>k</code>, the 128-bit key used to randomize the SipHash outputs

The result is a byte vector with a minimum size of <code>N * (P + 1)</code>
bits.

The raw items in <code>L</code> are first hashed to 64-bit unsigned integers as
specified above and sorted. The differences between consecutive values,
hereafter referred to as ''deltas'', are encoded sequentially to a bit stream
with Golomb-Rice coding. Finally, the bit stream is padded with 0's to the
nearest byte boundary and serialized to the output byte vector.

<pre>
construct_gcs(L: [][]byte, P: uint, k: [16]byte, M: uint) -> []byte:
    let set_items = hashed_set_construct(L, k, M)

    set_items.sort()

    let output_stream = new_bit_stream()

    let last_value = 0
    for item in set_items:
        let delta = item - last_value
        golomb_encode(output_stream, delta, P)
        last_value = item

    return output_stream.bytes()
</pre>

==== Set Querying/Decompression ====

To check membership of an item in a compressed GCS, one must reconstruct the
hashed set members from the encoded deltas. The procedure to do so is the
reverse of the compression: deltas are decoded one by one and added to a
cumulative sum. Each intermediate sum represents a hashed value in the original
set. The queried item is hashed in the same way as the set members and compared
against the reconstructed values. Note that querying does not require the entire
decompressed set be held in memory at once.

<pre>
gcs_match(key: [16]byte, compressed_set: []byte, target: []byte, P: uint, N: uint, M: uint) -> bool:
    let F = N * M
    let target_hash = hash_to_range(target, F, k)

    stream = new_bit_stream(compressed_set)

    let last_value = 0

    loop N times:
        let delta = golomb_decode(stream, P)
        let set_item = last_value + delta

        if set_item == target_hash:
            return true

        // Since the values in the set are sorted, terminate the search once
        // the decoded value exceeds the target.
        if set_item > target_hash:
            break

        last_value = set_item

    return false
</pre>

Some applications may need to check for set intersection instead of membership
of a single item. This can be performed far more efficiently than checking each
item individually by leveraging the sorted structure of the compressed GCS.
First the query elements are all hashed and sorted, then compared in order
against the decompressed GCS contents. See
[[#golomb-coded-set-multi-match|Appendix B]] for pseudocode.

=== Block Filters ===

This BIP defines one initial filter type:
* Basic (<code>0x00</code>)
** <code>M = 784931</code>
** <code>P = 19</code>

==== Contents ====

The basic filter is designed to contain everything that a light client needs to
sync a regular Bitcoin wallet. A basic filter MUST contain exactly the
following items for each transaction in a block:
* The previous output script (the script being spent) for each input, except for the coinbase transaction.
* The scriptPubKey of each output, aside from all <code>OP_RETURN</code> output scripts.

Any "nil" items MUST NOT be included into the final set of filter elements.

We exclude all outputs that start with <code>OP_RETURN</code> in order to allow
filters to easily be committed to in the future via a soft-fork. A likely area
for future commitments is an additional <code>OP_RETURN</code> output in the
coinbase transaction similar to the current witness commitment
<ref>https://github.com/bitcoin/bips/blob/master/bip-0141.mediawiki</ref>. By
excluding all <code>OP_RETURN</code> outputs we avoid a circular dependency
between the commitment, and the item being committed to.

==== Construction ====

The basic type is constructed as Golomb-coded sets with the following
parameters.

The parameter <code>P</code> MUST be set to <code>19</code>, and the parameter
<code>M</code> MUST be set to <code>784931</code>. Analysis has shown that if
one is able to select <code>P</code> and <code>M</code> independently, then
setting <code>M=1.497137 * 2^P</code> is close to optimal
<ref>https://gist.github.com/sipa/576d5f09c3b86c3b1b75598d799fc845</ref>.

Empirical analysis also shows that these parameters minimize the bandwidth
utilized, considering both the expected number of blocks downloaded due to false
positives and the size of the filters themselves.

The parameter <code>k</code> MUST be set to the first 16 bytes of the hash
(in standard little-endian representation) of the block for which the filter is
constructed. This ensures the key is deterministic while still varying from
block to block.

Since the value <code>N</code> is required to decode a GCS, a serialized GCS
includes it as a prefix, written as a <code>CompactSize</code>. Thus, the
complete serialization of a filter is:
* <code>N</code>, encoded as a <code>CompactSize</code>
* The bytes of the compressed filter itself

A zero element filter MUST be written as one byte containing zeroes.

==== Signaling ====

This BIP allocates a new service bit:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
| NODE_COMPACT_FILTERS
| style="white-space: nowrap;" | <code>1 << 6</code>
| If enabled, the node MUST respond to all BIP 157 messages for filter type <code>0x00</code>
|}

== Compatibility ==

This block filter construction is not incompatible with existing software,
though it requires implementation of the new filters.

== Acknowledgments ==

We would like to thank bfd (from the bitcoin-dev mailing list) for bringing the
basis of this BIP to our attention, Greg Maxwell for pointing us in the
direction of Golomb-Rice coding and fast range optimization, Pieter Wullie for
his analysis of optimal GCS parameters, and Pedro
Martelletto for writing the initial indexing code for <code>btcd</code>.

We would also like to thank Dave Collins, JJ Jeffrey, and Eric Lombrozo for
useful discussions.

== Reference Implementation ==

Light client: [https://github.com/lightninglabs/neutrino]

Full-node indexing: https://github.com/Roasbeef/btcd/tree/segwit-cbf

Golomb-Rice Coded sets: https://github.com/btcsuite/btcutil/blob/master/gcs

== Appendix A: Alternatives ==

A number of alternative set encodings were considered before Golomb-coded
sets were settled upon. In this appendix section, we'll list a few of the
alternatives along with our rationale for not pursuing them.

==== Bloom Filters ====

Bloom Filters are perhaps the best known probabilistic data structure for
testing set membership, and were introduced into the Bitcoin protocol with BIP
37. The size of a Bloom filter is larger than the expected size of a GCS with
the same false positive rate, which is the main reason the option was rejected.

==== Cryptographic Accumulators ====

Cryptographic
accumulators<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accumulator_(cryptography)</ref>
are a cryptographic data structures that enable (amongst other operations) a one
way membership test. One advantage of accumulators are that they are constant
size, independent of the number of elements inserted into the accumulator.
However, current constructions of cryptographic accumulators require an initial
trusted set up. Additionally, accumulators based on the Strong-RSA Assumption
require mapping set items to prime representatives in the associated group which
can be preemptively expensive.

==== Matrix Based Probabilistic Set Data Structures ====

There exist data structures based on matrix solving which are even more space
efficient compared to Bloom
filters<ref>https://arxiv.org/pdf/0804.1845.pdf</ref>. We instead opted for our
GCS-based filters as they have a much lower implementation complexity and are
easier to understand.

== Appendix B: Pseudocode ==

=== Golomb-Coded Set Multi-Match ===

<pre>
gcs_match_any(key: [16]byte, compressed_set: []byte, targets: [][]byte, P: uint, N: uint, M: uint) -> bool:
    let F = N * M

    // Map targets to the same range as the set hashes.
    let target_hashes = []
    for target in targets:
        let target_hash = hash_to_range(target, F, k)
        target_hashes.append(target_hash)

    // Sort targets so matching can be checked in linear time.
    target_hashes.sort()

    stream = new_bit_stream(compressed_set)

    let value = 0
    let target_idx = 0
    let target_val = target_hashes[target_idx]

    loop N times:
        let delta = golomb_decode(stream, P)
        value += delta

        inner loop:
            if target_val == value:
                return true

            // Move on to the next set value.
            else if target_val > value:
                break inner loop

            // Move on to the next target value.
            else if target_val < value:
                target_idx++

                // If there are no targets left, then there are no matches.
                if target_idx == len(targets):
                    break outer loop

                target_val = target_hashes[target_idx]

    return false
</pre>

== Appendix C: Test Vectors ==

Test vectors for basic block filters on five testnet blocks, including the filters and filter headers, can be found [[bip-0158/testnet-19.json|here]]. The code to generate them can be found [[bip-0158/gentestvectors.go|here]].

== References ==

<references/>

== Copyright ==

This document is licensed under the  Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal license.