EOS Network Foundation Enlists OCI To Implement Transaction Lifecycle Features on EOS

After many months of collective efforts amongst dozens of contributors participating in the EOS Network Foundation (ENF) sponsored working groups, their research has culminated in the release of four EOS Blue Papers:

• Audit+: Providing an overall framework for security analysis tooling and contract audit for EOSIO-based application.
• Core+: Restoring the EOSIO protocol as a global leader in blockchain technology.
• API+: Providing access for the next generation of EOSIO-powered dApps.
• Wallet+: Wallets, SDKs, standards, and complementary products to benefit application developers and the end-user experience for EOSIO.

These four Blue Papers represent a detailed overview of the current state of EOS with more than seventy-five proposals to enhance EOS to become the best-in-class smart contract development platform for supporting Web3 applications. Several of these proposals are now under consideration for funding to drive them from the research to development phase through an ongoing community feedback initiative that seeks to leverage the wisdom of the crowd by incentivizing additional insights from community members.

From Research to Development in Partnership with OCI

The ENF has signed an agreement to begin a partnership with Object Computing Inc. (OCI) to develop and implement the Transaction Lifecycle proposal outlined in the API+ Blue Paper as the first set of EOS features to move forward into development as a result of the Blue Papers research initiative.

A pioneer of enterprise open source solutions, OCI is a modern consulting company whose technology team offers a comprehensive set of skills ranging from machine learning to blockchain with technology partners including technology giants, such as Google, Intel, and AWS. With over 27 years of industry experience, OCI’s client list is composed of many globally recognized businesses like NASA, Rio Tinto, Bayer, and Motorola.

OCI’s team consists of 200+ highly skilled engineers and includes some of the top contributors to the EOSIO codebase. OCI was instrumental in the development of EOSIO and has been a key contributor to its development since 2017. Engineers from OCI have also hosted EOSIO workshops, attended events, and worked with other blockchain projects, such as Emanate, AirTM, and StrongBlock.

As the ENF continues to help cultivate a robust developer ecosystem, OCI is an obvious partner for their ability to deploy agile teams with just the right expertise for the project at hand, and with hundreds of software engineers, they have the ability to scale no matter the size or complexity of the project.

“OCI has been contributing to the development of EOSIO since the very beginning; we’re excited about this opportunity to work with ENF to build upon that work and make the EOS platform the most performant and easy to use blockchain in the world.”

— Brian Johnson, OCI — Principal Blockchain Engineer

Transaction Lifecycle

Broad consensus among developers within the ecosystem, as well as the specific recommendations from the API+ Blue Paper, all point to Transaction Lifecycle as a high-priority feature to be implemented on EOSIO, and as such, this is the first development proposal from the Blue Papers being funded by the ENF.

One of the most crucial times in the EOSIO user experience is when a user attempts to submit a transaction. The user must know if they can perform the desired transaction and then when the transaction has been successfully completed. Techniques to accomplish this exist today in many applications and some wallets, but these same technologies should be a core part of the experience of all EOSIO users.

As such an ubiquitous part of the EOSIO experience, these enhancements should be applied directly to the core API software and made available via a software upgrade (no forking required) for all operators.

Core Features of Transaction Lifecycle

Transaction Resource Cost Estimation

Challenge: The EOSIO subjective billing model makes it impossible to predict transaction cost.

Solution: A new API endpoint will be created that allows the submission of transactions that will return resource usage estimates.

Subjective Billing Improvements

Challenge: Transactions occasionally get lost due to “subjective billing” errors.

Solution: Code will be developed to more intelligently route transactions to reduce or eliminate lost transactions.

Transaction Retry

Challenge: User experience suffers due to a lack of effective transaction monitoring solutions.

Solution: A system will be developed to appropriately track and relay transactions on the network.

Transaction Finality Status

Challenge: Transaction finality tracking is an ad hoc function of specialized API history solutions.

Solution: Introduce optional features into the core system that track finality and current status.

The Road Ahead

This initial contract with OCI marks the beginning of a new cycle of development on high-priority recommendations from the Blue Papers, and we trust it will be the first of many such occasions for us to work together. The target delivery date for the Transaction Lifecycle features to be available is currently estimated to be June, and we will no doubt keep all parties apprised of any changes as we progress.

“EOS is fortunate to be able to leverage an experienced team such as OCI. The ENF looks forward to the continued collaboration that will accrue significant value to the EOS Network. Having access to multiple industry leading development teams will undoubtedly strengthen EOS’s core codebase with many teams working in parallel to implement a consolidated roadmap of products and features as outlined in our Blue Papers.”

— Yves La Rose, ENF — Executive Director

In addition, the ENF continues to support, fund, and otherwise encourage a robust developer ecosystem. Gone are the days of putting all our eggs in one basket. Today, we are witnessing the further expansion of a resilient pool of EOSIO developer talent. It’s a bright day for EOS and indeed, the whole family of EOSIO blockchains.

Object Computer, Inc. (OCI)

Object Computing, Inc. (OCI) is a modern consulting company that takes businesses from insights to outcomes using breakthrough technology. OCI’s technology team has unmatched expertise in designing and building solutions using today’s leading-edge technologies, including machine learning, blockchain, the Internet of Things, and cloud. As one of the original pioneers of enterprise open source solutions, OCI strategically integrates best-in-class open source technologies into enterprise solutions to deliver impactful digital capabilities that enable exceptional extensibility, reusability, security, and quality. Visit objectcomputing.com to learn more about how OCI partners with clients and the community to deliver impactful technology solutions.

EOS Network

The EOS Network is a 3rd generation blockchain platform powered by the EOS VM, a low-latency, highly performant, and extensible WebAssembly engine for deterministic execution of near feeless transactions; purpose-built for enabling optimal web3 user and developer experiences. EOS is the flagship blockchain and financial center of the Antelope framework, serving as the driving force behind multi-chain collaboration and public goods funding for tools and infrastructure through the EOS Network Foundation (ENF).

EOS Network Foundation

The EOS Network Foundation (ENF) is a not-for-profit organization that coordinates financial and non-financial support to encourage the growth and development of the EOS Network. The ENF is the hub of the EOS Network, harnessing the power of decentralization as a force for positive global change to chart a coordinated future for EOS.