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simpleserialize (ssz) [WIP]

This is currently a Work In Progress crate.

SimpleSerialize is a serialization protocol described by Vitalik Buterin. The method is tentatively intended for use in the Ethereum Beacon Chain as described in the Ethereum 2.1 Spec. The Beacon Chain specification is the core, canonical specification which we are following.

The current reference implementation has been described in the Beacon Chain Repository.

Please Note: This implementation is presently a placeholder until the final spec is decided.
Do not rely upon it for reference.

Table of Contents

SimpleSerialize Overview

The simpleserialize method for serialization follows simple byte conversion, making it effective and efficient for encoding and decoding.

The decoding requires knowledge of the data type and the order of the serialization.

Syntax:

Shorthand Meaning
big big endian
to_bytes convert to bytes. Params: (size, byte order)
from_bytes convert from bytes. Params: (bytes, byte order)
value the value to serialize
rawbytes raw encoded/serialized bytes
len(value) get the length of the value. (number of bytes etc)

Serialize/Encode

int or uint: 8/16/24/32/64/256

Convert directly to bytes the size of the int. (e.g. int16 = 2 bytes)

All integers are serialized as big endian.

Check to perform Code
Int size is not 0 int_size > 0
Size is a byte integer int_size % 8 == 0
Value is less than max 2**int_size > value 
buffer_size = int_size / 8
return value.to_bytes(buffer_size, 'big')

Address

The address should already come as a hash/byte format. Ensure that length is 20.

Check to perform Code
Length is correct (20) len(value) == 20 
assert( len(value) == 20 )
return value

Hash32

The hash32 should already be a 32 byte length serialized data format. The safety check ensures the 32 byte length is satisfied.

Check to perform Code
Length is correct (32) len(value) == 32 
assert( len(value) == 32 )
return value

Bytes

For general byte type:

  1. Get the length/number of bytes; Encode into a 4 byte integer.
  2. Append the value to the length and return: [ length_bytes ] + [ value_bytes ]
byte_length = (len(value)).to_bytes(4, 'big')
return byte_length + value

List

For lists of values, get the length of the list and then serialize the value of each item in the list:

  1. For each item in list:
    1. serialize.
    2. append to string.
  2. Get size of serialized string. Encode into a 4 byte integer.
serialized_list_string = ''

for item in value:
   serialized_list_string += serialize(item)

serialized_len = len(serialized_list_string)

return serialized_len + serialized_list_string

Deserialize/Decode

The decoding requires knowledge of the type of the item to be decoded. When performing decoding on an entire serialized string, it also requires knowledge of what order the objects have been serialized in.

Note: Each return will provide deserialized_object, new_index keeping track of the new index.

At each step, the following checks should be made:

Check Type Check
Ensure sufficient length length(rawbytes) > current_index + deserialize_length

Int or Uint: 8/16/24/32/64/256

Convert directly from bytes into integer utilising the number of bytes the same size as the integer length. (e.g. int16 == 2 bytes)

All integers are interpreted as big endian.

byte_length = int_size / 8
new_index = current_index + int_size
return int.from_bytes(rawbytes[current_index:current_index+int_size], 'big'), new_index

Address

Return the 20 bytes.

new_index = current_index + 20
return rawbytes[current_index:current_index+20], new_index

Hash32

Return the 32 bytes.

new_index = current_index + 32
return rawbytes[current_index:current_index+32], new_index

Bytes

Get the length of the bytes, return the bytes.

bytes_length = int.from_bytes(rawbytes[current_index:current_index+4], 'big')
new_index = current_index + 4 + bytes_lenth
return rawbytes[current_index+4:current_index+4+bytes_length], new_index

List

Deserailize each object in the list.

  1. Get the length of the serialized list.
  2. Loop through deseralizing each item in the list until you reach the entire length of the list.
Check type code
rawbytes has enough left for length len(rawbytes) > current_index + 4 
total_length = int.from_bytes(rawbytes[current_index:current_index+4], 'big')
new_index = current_index + 4 + total_length
item_index = current_index + 4
deserialized_list = []

while item_index < new_index:
   object, item_index = deserialize(rawbytes, item_index, item_type)
   deserialized_list.append(object)

return deserialized_list, new_index

Technical Overview

The SimpleSerialize is a simple method for serializing objects for use in the Ethereum beacon chain proposed by Vitalik Buterin. There are currently two implementations denoting the functionality, the Reference Implementation and the Module in Ethereum research. It is being developed as a crate for the Rust programming language.

The crate will provide the functionality to serialize several types in accordance with the spec and provide a serialized stream of bytes.

Building

ssz currently builds on rust v1.27.1

Installing Rust

The Rustup tool provides functionality to easily manage rust on your local instance. It is a recommended method for installing rust.

Installing on Linux or OSX:

curl https://sh.rustup.rs -sSf | sh

Installing on Windows:

Dependencies

All dependencies are listed in the Cargo.toml file.

To build and install all related dependencies:

cargo build

bytes v0.4.9

The bytes crate provides effective Byte Buffer implementations and interfaces.

Documentation: https://docs.rs/bytes/0.4.9/bytes/

ethereum-types

The ethereum-types provide primitives for types that are commonly used in the ethereum protocol. This crate is provided by Parity.

Github: https://github.com/paritytech/primitives

Interface

Encodable

A type is Encodable if it has a valid ssz_append function. This is used to ensure that the object/type can be serialized.

pub trait Encodable {
    fn ssz_append(&self, s: &mut SszStream);
}

Decodable

A type is Decodable if it has a valid ssz_decode function. This is used to ensure the object is deserializable.

pub trait Decodable: Sized {
    fn ssz_decode(bytes: &[u8], index: usize) -> Result<(Self, usize), DecodeError>;
}

SszStream

The main implementation is the SszStream struct. The struct contains a buffer of bytes, a Vector of uint8.

new()

Create a new, empty instance of the SszStream.

Example

let mut ssz = SszStream::new()

append(&mut self, value: &E) -> &mut Self

Appends a value that can be encoded into the stream.

Parameter Description
value Encodable value to append to the stream.

Example

ssz.append(&x)

append_encoded_val(&mut self, vec: &Vec)

Appends some ssz encoded bytes to the stream.

Parameter Description
vec A vector of serialized ssz bytes.

Example

let mut a = [0, 1];
ssz.append_encoded_val(&a.to_vec());

append_vec(&mut self, vec: &Vec)

Appends some vector (list) of encodable values to the stream.

Parameter Description
vec Vector of Encodable objects to be serialized.

Example

ssz.append_vec(attestations);

drain(self) -> Vec

Consumes the ssz stream and returns the buffer of bytes.

Example

ssz.drain()

decode_ssz(ssz_bytes: &[u8], index: usize) -> Result<(T, usize), DecodeError>

Decodes a single ssz serialized value of type T. Note: T must be decodable.

Parameter Description
ssz_bytes Serialized list of bytes.
index Starting index to deserialize from.

Returns

Return Value Description
Tuple(T, usize) Returns the tuple of the type and next index.
DecodeError Error if the decoding could not be performed.

Example

let res: Result<(u16, usize), DecodeError> = decode_ssz(&encoded_ssz, 0);

decode_ssz_list(ssz_bytes: &[u8], index: usize) -> Result<(Vec, usize), DecodeError>

Decodes a list of serialized values into a vector.

Parameter Description
ssz_bytes Serialized list of bytes.
index Starting index to deserialize from.

Returns

Return Value Description
Tuple(Vec<T>, usize) Returns the tuple of the type and next index.
DecodeError Error if the decoding could not be performed.

Example

let decoded: Result<(Vec<usize>, usize), DecodeError> = decode_ssz_list( &encoded_ssz, 0);

decode_length(bytes: &[u8], index: usize, length_bytes: usize) -> Result<usize, DecodeError>

Deserializes the "length" value in the serialized bytes from the index. The length of bytes is given (usually 4 stated in the reference implementation) and is often the value appended to the list infront of the actual serialized object.

Parameter Description
bytes Serialized list of bytes.
index Starting index to deserialize from.
length_bytes Number of bytes to deserialize into usize.

Returns

Return Value Description
usize The length of the serialized object following this length.
DecodeError Error if the decoding could not be performed.

Example

let length_of_serialized: Result<usize, DecodeError> = decode_length(&encoded, 0, 4);

Usage

Serializing/Encoding

Rust

Create the simpleserialize stream that will produce the serialized objects.

let mut ssz = SszStream::new();

Encode the values that you need by using the append(..) method on the SszStream.

The append function is how the value gets serialized.

let x: u64 = 1 << 32;
ssz.append(&x);

To get the serialized byte vector use drain() on the SszStream.

ssz.drain()

Example

// 1 << 32 = 4294967296;
// As bytes it should equal: [0,0,0,1,0,0,0]
let x: u64 = 1 << 32;

// Create the new ssz stream
let mut ssz = SszStream::new();

// Serialize x
ssz.append(&x);

// Check that it is correct.
assert_eq!(ssz.drain(), vec![0,0,0,1,0,0,0]);

Deserializing/Decoding

Rust

From the simpleserialize bytes, we are converting to the object.

let ssz = vec![0, 0, 8, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255];

// Returns the result and the next index to decode.
let (result, index): (u64, usize) = decode_ssz(&ssz, 3).unwrap();

// Check for correctness
// 2**64-1 = 18446744073709551615
assert_eq!(result, 18446744073709551615);
// Index = 3 (initial index) + 8 (8 byte int) = 11
assert_eq!(index, 11);

Decoding a list of items:

// Encoded/Serialized list with junk numbers at the front
let serialized_list = vec![ 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0, 0, 0, 32, 0, 0, 0,
                            0, 0, 0, 0, 15, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 15, 0, 0, 0, 0,
                            0, 0, 0, 15, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 15];

// Returns the result (Vector of usize) and the index of the next
let decoded: (Vec<usize>, usize) = decode_ssz_list(&serialized_list, 10).unwrap();

// Check for correctness
assert_eq!(decoded.0, vec![15,15,15,15]);

assert_eq!(decoded.1, 46);