Lucrative Update: V5

[R. A. Hettinga]

--- begin forwarded text


Status: RO
From: "Patrick" <patrick at lfcgate.com>
To: "'Digital Bearer Settlement List'" <dbs at philodox.com>
Subject: Lucrative Update: V5
Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 14:27:34 -0600
Sender: <dbs at philodox.com>

Lucrative release 5 is out today. This release brings Lucrative
significantly closer to a deployable platform.

Highlights of this release include:

1) Server Series start and stop dates added.

Lucrative server administrators can now specify a time window during
which the server will issue a given Series. Series also have expiration
dates after which the server will no longer honor a Series, even if the
coins presented are otherwise valid.

2) Client Purse can connect to arbitrary servers

Previous releases had a tightly coupled Lucrative server and Purse. This
is no longer the case: users should be able to share DBIs and test each
others' servers.

3) Client Purse can import and export DBIs

Using the Purse, you can now export and import ASCII-armored DBIs which
can include one or more coins.

4) Lots of refactoring code

I went through and refactored a lot of code, looking for the simplest
solutions that could possibly work. Most of the refactoring was in the
Fibi package (org.lucrative.fibi). It should be easier for Java
programmers to follow the code flow.

5) Smoother Installation

A dependency testing tool was added (org.lucrative.client.DependsTest)
Although incomplete, this tool should aid installation by detecting
required packages and issuing warnings and recommendations.

Installation notes and requirements have been corrected and streamlined.

6) Administration Tools expanded

The SeriesMaker tool has been updated and a new command line tool for
adjusting balances has been added.


I have a development blog at http://lucrative.thirdhost.com/ which is a
good place to check before attempting an install. Drop me a note at
patrick at lfcgate.com if you have trouble (PGP key on website).


Forward From Here

Prepackaged interface modules for GoldMoney, E-gold, and others will be
up on the lucrative website soon. These are web applications that allow
users to transfer assets from traditional, book-entry systems into the
Lucrative DBI system, and out again. An example is online at
http://lucrative.thirdhost.com/goldmoney/use.php.

Release 6 will feature a more useful and streamlined Purse interface, a
statistics interface similar to e-gold's examiner tool, and improved
administration tools.

A road map for the future of Lucrative is coming. It will include
estimated dates for

1) Live demonstration Lucrative servers
2) A PDA (Palm, Pocket PC) client that can 'beam' DBIs for use in live
transactions at shops, etc.
3) Smart Purse, which encrypts DBI stores and can access online third
party coin storage (to protect against disk crashes/loss of data).
Etc.


If Lucrative is interesting to you, please consider helping in any way
you can:

Feedback
Installation reports
Suggestions
Comments
Criticism
Feature requests
Source code patches
Donations

Are all very much welcomed. And criticism is more useful to me than
praise. 

My sincere thanks to everyone who has participated so far by installing,
testing, providing feedback, spreading the word, and donating.

Regards,

Patrick

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-- 
-----------------
R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at ibuc.com>
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'

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