Specifications

Overview

In the context of blockchain technology, specifications are detailed descriptions of the system's architecture, components, and operations. They serve as a blueprint for developers and engineers to understand and implement the system effectively. For Aleo, the specifications focus on two main areas: the consensus mechanism and the virtual machine.

AleoBFT

AleoBFT is the consensus algorithm that powers the Aleo blockchain. It is designed to ensure secure and reliable agreement among validators. AleoBFT builds on concepts from Narwhal and Bullshark, optimizing for dynamic validator committees and staking participation. Validators in AleoBFT collect transactions and submit proposals, which are then endorsed by others to form cryptographic certificates. These certificates are structured into a Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG), enabling efficient ordering of transactions and preventing forks, thus ensuring a robust and scalable consensus process.

AleoVM

The Aleo Virtual Machine (AVM) is a computational platform integral to the Aleo blockchain, designed to run privacy-focused applications. It operates as a stack machine that executes queued instructions. Its primary function is to construct arithmetic circuits described as Rank-1 Constraint System (R1CS) from each instruction in a function. After constructing the R1CS, corresponding proofs are generated using a variation of the Marlin algorithm called Varuna. This approach allows for succinct verification of arbitrary computations by leveraging a universal and updatable Structured Reference String (SRS). The AVM is crucial for maintaining privacy and scalability on the Aleo network. It ensures that transactions and contracts are executed while maintaining the confidentiality of the data involved, using zk-SNARKs to verify the correctness of computations without revealing the inputs or internal state.