Ethereum Execution Layer Specification | Ethereum Foundation Blog

tl;dr

• EELS is an execution layer reference implementation in Python.
• It is updated with mainnet.
• It fills checks, and passes current ones.
• There’s an instance of an EIP applied in EELS under.

Introduction

After greater than a 12 months in improvement, we’re happy to publicly introduce the Ethereum Execution Layer Specification (affectionately referred to as EELS.) EELS is a Python reference implementation of the core parts of an Ethereum execution consumer targeted on readability and readability. Meant as a religious successor to the Yellow Paper that is extra programmer pleasant and up-to-date with post-merge forks, EELS can fill and execute state checks, observe mainnet¹, and is a superb place to prototype new EIPs.

EELS supplies full snapshots of the protocol at every fork—together with upcoming ones—making it a lot simpler to observe than EIPs (which solely suggest adjustments) and manufacturing shoppers (which regularly combine a number of forks in the identical codepath.)

Historical past

Starting in 2021, as a venture of ConsenSys’ Quilt group and the Ethereum Basis, the eth1.0-spec (because it was identified then) was impressed by the sheer frustration of getting to decipher the cryptic notation of the Yellow Paper (Determine 1) to know the particular habits of an EVM instruction.

Drawing on the profitable Consensus Layer Specification, we got down to create an analogous executable specification for the execution layer.

Current

As we speak, EELS is consumable as a conventional Python repository and as rendered documentation. It is nonetheless a bit tough across the edges, and does not present a lot in the best way of annotations or English explanations for what varied items do, however these will include time.

It is simply Python

Hopefully a side-by-side comparability of the Yellow Paper and the equal code from EELS can present why EELS is a invaluable complement to it:

def less_than(evm: Evm) -> None:
    # STACK
    left = pop(evm.stack)
    proper = pop(evm.stack)

    # GAS
    charge_gas(evm, GAS_VERY_LOW)

    # OPERATION
    outcome = U256(left < proper)

    push(evm.stack, outcome)

    # PROGRAM COUNTER
    evm.laptop += 1

Whereas Determine 2 may be digestible to teachers, Determine 3 is indisputably extra pure to programmers.

Here is a video walk-through of including a easy EVM instruction if that is your type of factor.

Writing Checks

It bears repeating: EELS is simply common Python. It may be examined like some other Python library! Along with the whole ethereum/checks suite, we even have a number of pytest checks.

With slightly assist from execution-spec-tests, any checks written for EELS can be utilized to manufacturing shoppers!²

Displaying Variations

Having snapshots at every fork is nice for a wise contract developer popping in to see the specifics of how an EVM instruction works, however is not very useful for consumer builders themselves. For them, EELS can show the variations between forks:

An Instance EIP

EIP-6780 is the primary EIP to get an EELS implementation offered by the writer, Guillaume Ballet! Let’s have a look.

First, we introduce a created_contracts variable to the EVM with transaction-level scope:

 @dataclass
 class Setting:
     caller: Deal with
     block_hashes: Checklist[Hash32]
     origin: Deal with
     coinbase: Deal with
     quantity: Uint
     base_fee_per_gas: Uint
     gas_limit: Uint
     gas_price: Uint
     time: U256
     prev_randao: Bytes32
     state: State
     chain_id: U64
+    created_contracts: Set[Address]

Second, we word which contracts had been created in every transaction:

+    evm.env.created_contracts.add(contract_address)

Lastly, we modify selfdestruct so it solely works for contracts famous in created_contracts:

-    # register account for deletion
-    evm.accounts_to_delete.add(originator)
-
+    # Solely proceed if the contract has been created in the identical tx
+    if originator in evm.env.created_contracts:
+
+        # register account for deletion
+        evm.accounts_to_delete.add(originator)
+

Future

We wish EELS to turn out to be the default technique to specify Core EIPs, the primary place EIP authors go to prototype their proposals, and the very best reference for a way Ethereum works.

When you’re concerned with contributing or prototyping your EIP, be part of us on the #specs channel or seize a difficulty from our repository.