Solana Changelog: SIMD 3 Proposal, Compute Cost Updates, and Golana Integration

In this week's Solana Changelog, hosts Jacob and Colin bring us the latest updates and changes in the Solana ecosystem. From exciting hackathon opportunities to significant protocol improvements, there's a lot to unpack. Let's dive into the details of what's happening in the world of Solana.

Solana Sandstorm Hackathon: Building the Future

The Solana community is buzzing with creativity as the Solana Sandstorm Hackathon, sponsored by the Solana Foundation, is currently underway. This community-driven event, organized through Lamport DAO, offers developers a chance to push the boundaries of what's possible on the Solana blockchain.

Jacob enthusiastically encourages participation, stating, "Totally recommend entering it. We as Solana Foundation are sponsoring it. You can build like local tooling, you can build like things for NFTs, DeFi, just go build for it, like push the boundaries of Solana and let's see what some cool projects that we can get out of it."

The hackathon covers a wide range of categories, including local tooling, NFTs, and DeFi, providing ample opportunities for developers to showcase their skills and innovate. It's a short-term event, concluding on January 23rd, 2023, which makes it perfect for those looking to quickly prototype and ship new ideas.

Colin adds, "I think there's a really great way to get involved with what's happening in the Solana ecosystem and it's not a really long one. It actually ends on the 23rd of January. So just build something, get involved in, yep, ship and then see how it goes."

This hackathon represents a fantastic opportunity for developers to contribute to the Solana ecosystem, potentially creating tools and applications that could shape the future of the platform.

SIMD 3: Dynamic Base Fees Proposal

The spotlight of this week's changelog is on the SIMD 3 proposal, which introduces the concept of dynamic base fees to the Solana network. This proposal is generating significant discussion within the community due to its potential impact on network economics and user experience.

Colin explains the two main components of the SIMD 3 proposal:

1. Changing the base fee calculation: "The first thing is actually changing the way the base fee is being calculated currently, which is just done by the amount of signatures in a transaction to actually be based on the amount of compute units per transaction instead."

2. Implementing dynamic total fees: "Then the secondary component of that is to add a mechanism where the total fee is dynamic just based on the current load on the network."

The primary goal of this proposal is to enhance spam protection and optimize network usage. By implementing dynamic fees based on network load, it aims to discourage excessive transaction spamming and encourage more efficient use of network resources.

Jacob notes the importance of the ongoing discussions: "SIMD process is really kicking off with this one. There seems to be a lot of discussion on this one and like, how can we make it better? How do we change fees correctly to correctly match what is happening in the network?"

While consensus on the proposal hasn't been reached yet, the discussions surrounding it provide valuable insights into the community's thoughts on network stability and efficiency. Colin encourages everyone to engage with the proposal: "I think it's also something that it's worth reading into, like a respective of like what you consider your own technical ability to be. The discussions that are actually very insightful to kind of see how people think about different ways to make the network more stable and kind of like see the different angles of where people are coming from."

As the Solana network continues to grow and evolve, proposals like SIMD 3 play a crucial role in shaping its future. The ongoing dialogue demonstrates the community's commitment to improving the network and ensuring its long-term success.

Compute Cost Updates: Fine-Tuning Performance

In the pursuit of accuracy and efficiency, the Solana team has made some adjustments to the compute costs within the network. Colin explains, "Another commit highlight is the update to compute costs, because the way it was initially estimated was slightly incorrect. So now they fix that. So as a result, the cost estimates have been adjusted upward but just very slightly."

These updates primarily affect the curve25519 syscalls, rather than being a network-wide change. The adjustments are minimal, with Colin noting, "It's a level where like you may not even recognize a change, but it's just to keep in mind that those compute costs have gone up a little bit."

While these changes may seem small, they represent Solana's ongoing commitment to maintaining a finely-tuned and efficient blockchain. By constantly refining and optimizing the network's parameters, Solana ensures that it can continue to offer high performance and low costs to its users.

GetRecentPrioritizationFees: Enhancing Transaction Efficiency

As Solana prepares for its upcoming upgrade from version 1.13 to 1.14, a new RPC call is being introduced to help users better manage their transactions. The GetRecentPrioritizationFees call provides an estimate of recent prioritization fees, allowing users to make more informed decisions when submitting transactions.

Jacob explains the significance of this new feature: "So there's an RPC called call get recent prioritization fees, which kind of gives you a estimate of what the recent prioritization fees are so that you can better estimate what your future what prioritization fees are going to be."

This addition is particularly relevant given the recent trend of users employing prioritization fees to ensure their transactions are included in blocks. By providing this information, Solana is empowering users and applications to optimize their transaction strategies.

Jacob highlights the practical applications of this new call: "So what you can do is this call, you can call it, and then you can use it to determine like, okay, what do I think that a good fee amount would be for right now so I can get into the block."

The GetRecentPrioritizationFees call was originally slated for inclusion in version 1.15 but has been moved up to version 1.14 due to its importance. Some applications, such as Jupiter, are already leveraging this feature to improve user experience.

Colin adds that this functionality is not limited to RPC calls: "It's actually interesting because that reminds me of a related commit that I saw that that methods also been added to the rust client. So if you're building rust clients, you would also have access to that RPC call."

This update demonstrates Solana's responsiveness to ecosystem needs and its commitment to providing developers and users with the tools they need to optimize their interactions with the network.

Runtime Mismatch: A Testament to Solana's Robust Testing

In a demonstration of Solana's commitment to network stability and robust testing procedures, a potential issue was caught and resolved without impacting users. Jacob recounts the incident: "A bunch of people, I think like 9% of people or validators were deployed with 1.14 on main at beta. However, the basically what's great is it was caught in regression almost."

The issue involved a small runtime change mismatch between versions 1.13 and 1.14. Thanks to Solana's careful rollout process, the discrepancy was identified and addressed before it could cause any network disruptions.

Jacob emphasizes the effectiveness of Solana's testing protocols: "Thankfully, we were doing proper rollout of 1.14. So it was caught. It would didn't affect the network and it's been fixed. So really cool. Basically, it was a really great example of good testing and being able to catch problems before they actually cause issues."

This incident highlights the importance of thorough testing and gradual deployment in maintaining a stable and reliable blockchain network. It also showcases Solana's proactive approach to identifying and resolving potential issues before they can impact users or the broader ecosystem.

Golana: Expanding Solana's Language Support

In an exciting development for the Solana ecosystem, a new tool called Golana has been introduced, allowing developers to write smart contracts for Solana using the Go programming language. This addition expands Solana's language support beyond Rust and Python, potentially attracting a wider range of developers to the platform.

Colin expresses enthusiasm for this new tool: "As the name suggests, it's a way to build smart contacts on Solana in the Go programming language. I think this is something that's very exciting because I think the more languages that we can support and offer, it kind of just begins to attract more developers into the ecosystem."

The introduction of Golana represents a significant step in Solana's efforts to become more accessible to developers from various backgrounds. By supporting multiple programming languages, Solana is lowering the barrier to entry for developers who may be more comfortable with languages other than Rust.

Colin highlights the potential for further language expansion: "So now it's not just Rust that supported this Rust Python and Go. And I'm curious to kind of see what other languages will be supported next. I think TypeScript is also in the works."

It's important to note that Golana is still in its early stages. Jacob adds, "Do note that Golan is still in like alpha sages. So it can't do everything yet. But it's really cool. It's really cool that what you can do with it. I think the the maintainer built like Hello World and an escrow program. So you can test those out in a little bit more."

As with many Solana projects, Golana is open-source, allowing the community to contribute to its development and improvement. Colin encourages engagement with the project: "And as always, everything is open source. So you can kind of give feedback and comments and suggest different improvements to it. But very excited to have that language on board."

The introduction of Golana demonstrates Solana's commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive developer ecosystem. By providing tools that cater to different programming preferences, Solana is positioning itself as a blockchain platform that welcomes developers from all backgrounds.

Solana Stack Exchange: Fostering Community Knowledge

The Solana ecosystem continues to grow not just in terms of development tools, but also in community knowledge sharing. The Solana Stack Exchange, a question-and-answer platform for Solana developers, is gaining traction and becoming an invaluable resource for the community.

Colin gives a special mention to a top contributor: "Quick shout out to John C, who earned the most reputation on the Solana Stack Exchange this week. So looking forward to see who else is going to dethrone him for next week."

This acknowledgment highlights the importance of community engagement and knowledge sharing within the Solana ecosystem. The Stack Exchange platform allows developers to ask questions, share insights, and collaboratively solve problems, fostering a stronger and more knowledgeable community.

By recognizing top contributors, Solana encourages active participation and the sharing of expertise, which is crucial for the growth and sustainability of the ecosystem. As more developers engage with the platform, the collective knowledge base expands, making it easier for newcomers to learn and for experienced developers to find solutions to complex problems.

The success of the Solana Stack Exchange is a testament to the vibrant and supportive nature of the Solana community. It demonstrates that the ecosystem is not just about technological advancements, but also about building a strong, knowledgeable, and collaborative developer community.

Conclusion: Solana's Continuous Evolution

This week's Solana Changelog highlights the platform's ongoing commitment to improvement and innovation. From the introduction of dynamic base fees with SIMD 3 to the expansion of language support with Golana, Solana is consistently working to enhance its capabilities and user experience.

The Solana Sandstorm Hackathon represents an exciting opportunity for developers to contribute to the ecosystem's growth, while updates to compute costs and the introduction of new RPC calls demonstrate Solana's attention to performance and usability.

The quick resolution of the runtime mismatch issue showcases the robustness of Solana's testing and deployment processes, instilling confidence in the network's stability. Meanwhile, the growing Solana Stack Exchange community reflects the ecosystem's strong focus on knowledge sharing and collaborative problem-solving.

As Solana continues to evolve, it's clear that the platform is not just focused on technological advancements, but also on building a strong, diverse, and engaged community of developers and users. With each update and new feature, Solana is solidifying its position as a leading blockchain platform, ready to meet the challenges and opportunities of the future.

Stay tuned for more updates as Solana continues to push the boundaries of what's possible in the world of blockchain technology.

Facts + Figures

• The Solana Sandstorm Hackathon is currently ongoing, sponsored by the Solana Foundation and organized through Lamport DAO.
• The hackathon ends on January 23rd, 2023, covering categories such as local tooling, NFTs, and DeFi.
• SIMD 3 proposal introduces dynamic base fees to the Solana network, changing the base fee calculation from signature-based to compute unit-based.
• Compute costs for curve25519 syscalls have been slightly adjusted upward for improved accuracy.
• A new RPC call, GetRecentPrioritizationFees, has been introduced to help estimate prioritization fees for transactions.
• This RPC call has been moved from the planned 1.15 version to the upcoming 1.14 version.
• A runtime mismatch between versions 1.13 and 1.14 was caught and fixed during testing, affecting about 9% of validators but causing no user-facing issues.
• Golana, a new tool allowing smart contract development in Go, has been introduced to the Solana ecosystem.
• Golana is currently in alpha stages, with basic functionalities like "Hello World" and escrow programs available for testing.
• The Solana Stack Exchange is gaining traction, with John C recognized as the top contributor for the week.

Questions Answered

What is the Solana Sandstorm Hackathon?

The Solana Sandstorm Hackathon is a community-driven event sponsored by the Solana Foundation and organized through Lamport DAO. It provides an opportunity for developers to build and innovate on the Solana blockchain across various categories including local tooling, NFTs, and DeFi. The hackathon is designed to push the boundaries of what's possible on Solana and runs for a short period, ending on January 23rd, 2023.

What changes does the SIMD 3 proposal introduce?

The SIMD 3 proposal introduces dynamic base fees to the Solana network. It consists of two main components: first, changing the base fee calculation from being based on the number of signatures in a transaction to being based on the amount of compute units per transaction. Second, it adds a mechanism where the total fee is dynamic based on the current load on the network. This proposal aims to improve spam protection and optimize network usage by discouraging excessive transaction spamming.

What is the GetRecentPrioritizationFees RPC call?

GetRecentPrioritizationFees is a new RPC call introduced in the upcoming Solana 1.14 update. It provides an estimate of recent prioritization fees, allowing users and applications to better determine appropriate fee amounts for their transactions. This feature is particularly useful in helping transactions get included in blocks more efficiently, especially during times of high network activity. Some applications, like Jupiter, are already utilizing this call to improve user experience.

What is Golana?

Golana is a new tool introduced to the Solana ecosystem that allows developers to write smart contracts for Solana using the Go programming language. It expands Solana's language support beyond Rust and Python, potentially attracting a wider range of developers to the platform. Golana is currently in alpha stages, with basic functionalities like "Hello World" and escrow programs available for testing. This addition represents Solana's efforts to become more accessible to developers from various programming backgrounds.

How did Solana handle the recent runtime mismatch issue?

Solana recently encountered a small runtime change mismatch between versions 1.13 and 1.14, affecting about 9% of validators. Thanks to Solana's robust testing and gradual rollout process, this issue was caught during regression testing before it could cause any network disruptions or user-facing problems. The issue was promptly fixed, demonstrating Solana's effective testing protocols and ability to identify and resolve potential issues proactively.