QRL Monthly: feat QRL Documentation Revision - August 2023
1st September 2023
Table of Contents
Highlights
Documentation revision for QRL + QRL Zond
Last month in the annals QRL Weekly, we were happy to introduce everyone to the early stages of our revamped documentation for QRL and QRL Zond — redesigned, restructured, and renewed, aimed to elevate the user experience and facilitate more effective interactions with the QRL ecosystem.
The Need for Revamping
Proper documentation can make a significant impact on both users and businesses through enhanced usability, user onboarding, and reduced support loads. For newcomers, the initial impression can make or break their long-term relationship with a product. Revamped documentation aids in smooth user onboarding, acting as an efficient guide that helps users navigate through functionalities with ease.
Why fix something that isn’t broken? This is a common argument against revamping existing documentation. However, it assumes that the current documentation is entirely effective, understandable, and in sync with the product. While the current documentation served us well, with evolving user needs, changes in features, and an upcoming major update (Zond!), documentation needed an overhaul to be effective.
What’s new
The revamped documentation breaks things into a few sections that more easily guides people to do what they want to do.
- Use: Any interaction with the QRL blockchain, including creating and working with Wallets, Nodes, other QRL tools, or mining.
- Build: For developer related interactions with the QRL development ecosystem. From API calls to address schemes, CLI commands and Docker nodes.
- API: Covers the application programmer interface (API)
- Tutorials: Guides to get started using the QRL. Walking through basic tasks like setting up a node, requesting blockchain data, or creating a simple application etc.
What’s left?
While a significant portion of the revised documentation is complete, additional review and refinement are required before it can be completely replaced. You may observe, while perusing the documentation, that many of the sections have notices at the top signifying the page’s status. As we work through those, we’ll be closer to completely replacing the current documentation.
How can I help?
This is where you come in. By utilising the available documentation and offering constructive input, one may significantly contribute to refining the content and rectifying any imperfections or identifying mistakes. Although it may appear insignificant, maintaining the usability of our documentation may have a substantial influence on users and organisations seeking to incorporate and utilise the QRL in their products and systems.
References
- For QRL Zond
- Website: https://zond-docs.theqrl.org
- Repository: https://github.com/theQRL/zond-documentation
- For QRL
- Website: https://docs-beta.theqrl.org
- Repository: https://github.com/theQRL/documentation
- QRL old documentation
- Website: https://docs.theqrl.org,
- Repository: https://github.com/theQRL/docs.theqrl.org
QRL Zond Development
Implemented go-zond-types, go-zond-wallet-types, and staking-deposit-cli with go-zond-wallet-encryptor-keystore in progress. Staking the has been tested successfully to 3000+ blocks.
Overview of components
go-zond-types, a library that has cryptography related data types supported by Zond.go-zond-wallet-types, a library that has datatypes related to Zond based wallet and usesgo-zond-typesfor cryptography data types.go-zond-wallet-encryptor-keystoreusesgo-zond-wallet-typesused to encrypt and decrypt the keystore files generated bystaking-deposit-cli. This library will be used by the beacon node while importing validator wallet from the key store files for the purpose of staking.staking-deposit-cligenerates multiple dilithium wallet for staking based on the parameters provided along with the keystore files with the dilithium seed encrypted with AES-128-CTR. It also generates files including details such as withdrawal credentials that would be used to create transaction that will be broadcasted further to start staking.
P2P synchronisation, a memory-related crash problem with the beacon chain, and state resumption were all fixed. Code to support account with smart contract code while generating genesis state from genesis.json was added as well, used to deploy deposit contract for staking in genesis block.
Media
History of Cryptography: Behind the Code (Ep #3)
We’re thrilled to release Episode #3 of our series, History of Cryptography: Behind The Code.
In our latest episode, we move from the end of WW1 through the 1940’s (WW2) covering everything from Enigma & codebreaking to Alan Turing & his teams work at Bletchley Park.
Check it out below or on the associated blog if you haven’t already.
Changelog
theQRL/block-explorer
- [4eb1d] Fix #346
- [c756c] Merge pull request #423 from theQRL/testnet
- [a453c] NFT hash display on mobile
- [41582] Update NFT providers
- [2dcb1] Merge pull request #424 from jplomas/master
- [93c00] Bump nft-providers package version
- [94cd9] Merge pull request #425 from jplomas/master
- [c60dc] Fix NFT link on tx
- [888a3] Merge pull request #426 from jplomas/master
- [0d15f] Re-do NFT tx link fix
- [e17f4] Merge pull request #427 from jplomas/master
- [cb174] Scaffolding for richlist from new API
- [618c1] Basic top 100 richlist for mainnet via richlist-api
- [32aba] Display balance in Quanta
- [bf623] Working load more & CSV export, version bump for deploy
- [8f4a1] Merge pull request #428 from jplomas/master
- [36755] Fix rounding in address balance
- [b24b0] Merge pull request #429 from jplomas/master
Fix rounding in address balance
- [36755] Fix rounding in address balance
theQRL/QRL
- [b5882] Fix: walletd conversion of binary data in token name and symbol
- [44683] Flake8 fix
- [13663] Merge pull request #1777 from cyyber/dev
Fix: walletd conversion of binary data in token name and symbol
[2a868] Merge pull request #1776 from theQRL/dev
[b5882] Fix: walletd conversion of binary data in token name and symbol
[44683] Flake8 fix
theQRL/theqrl.org
- [12066] QRL Weekly, 2023-August-29
- [75d54] History of Cryptography ep 3
- [43bfc] QRL Weekly
Add buildFuture to netlify config for future events
- [8fc69] Add buildFuture to netlify config for future events
Add Post-Quantum Cryptography Conference event
- [65766] Extend external_url to upcoming + adjust text/remove video
- [eafa9] Add removed video to QRL Hackathon 2022 landing page
- [f1439] Event page style adjustments
- [3d745] Add Post-Quantum Cryptography Conference event
- [f3ea2] Merge remote-tracking branch ‘upstream/main’
- [2a7f1] QRL Monthly - July 2023
- [32995] Merge remote-tracking branch ‘upstream/main’
- [8a0cc] BG Highlight Fixes
- [ae553] QRL Weekly Update - W30
Quantum News
IBM makes major leap in quantum computing error-detection
On 29 Aug 2023: IBM researchers have developed a system that improves error-detection in quantum computing, a major obstacle to its advancement. Quantum computers are highly sensitive to noise and prone to errors in their qubits. Unlike standard computer bits, qubits cannot be cloned without introducing errors. The researchers have developed an improved code and redesigned qubit placement that reduces the number of physical qubits needed for error-correction by one-tenth. While the approach currently only works on quantum memory and not computational power, it is seen as a step towards fault-tolerant quantum computing. - phys.org
Quantum Machines Introduces OPX1000: The Quantum Control Solution for Large-Scale Quantum Computing
On 29 Aug 2023: Quantum Machines has launched its new advanced quantum control solution, OPX1000, which offers industry-leading performance metrics including feedback capabilities, runtime, analog performance, and channel density. The modular quantum controller is designed to scale control of quantum computers to 1000 qubits and beyond. The solution is currently being deployed with select customers and will be generally available later this year. OPX1000 is programmed using Quantum Machines' intuitive pulse-level language, QUA, or at the gate level using the OpenQASM3 to QUA compiler extension. The company aims to push the entire field of quantum computing forward and accelerate the realization of useful quantum computers. - hpcwire.com
Post-Quantum Cryptography: CISA, NIST, and NSA Recommend How to Prepare Now
On 21 Aug 2023: The National Security Agency (NSA), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) warned that cyber actors could target our nation’s most sensitive information now and leverage future quantum computing technology to break traditional non-quantum-resistant cryptographic algorithms. This could be particularly devastating to sensitive information with long-term secrecy requirements.
“The transition to a secured quantum computing era is a long-term intensive community effort that will require extensive collaboration between government and industry. The key is to be on this journey today and not wait until the last minute.” - nsa.gov
Federal Reserve Warns Congress About Quantum Threats
On 16 Aug 2023: The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System sees a host of emerging technological threats to the financial system — quantum computing's ability to crack current cybersecurity schemes is one of them. - thequantuminsider.com
India to get "million qubit" quantum computing-focused data center
On 14 Aug 2023: The Uttar Pradesh Government in India has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Innogress and GAN Tech UK to establish the Indraprastha Quantum Data Center (IQDC), a new data center dedicated to quantum computing. The IQDC aims to house a million-qubit-powered quantum computer, although no exact deadline for the project has been given. Innogress and GAN Tech UK are seeking quantum computing technology partners and investors for the project, which is estimated to cost between $300 million and $500 million. The IQDC will be located in Greater Noida, which already houses traditional data centers from companies such as NTT and Yotta. - datacenterdynamics.com
Google Chrome to shield encryption keys from promised quantum computers
On 12 Aug 2023: Google is deploying a hybrid key encapsulation mechanism (KEM) in its Chrome browser to protect the sharing of encryption secrets during the establishment of secure network connections. The new system, called X25519Kyber768, combines the X25519 elliptic curve algorithm and Kyber-768, a quantum-resistant cryptographic algorithm. The move is in anticipation of future quantum computers that could potentially break existing encryption schemes. Google's early deployment of the technology is also practical for network administrators as it adds extra data to TLS ClientHello messages to strengthen security. The deployment of post-quantum encryption is seen as a necessary step in protecting valuable data shared over networks today and in the future. - theregister.com
SandboxAQ Open Sources Cryptography Tool for Post-Quantum Era
On 08 Aug 2023: The Sandwich framework allows developers to build their own protocols and implementations that can be changed and reconfigured in response to new threats and technologies without rewriting code. The solution, currently used by several US government agencies, global banks, telcos, and tech companies, can be embedded into internal applications and commercial software and supports multiple languages, operating systems, and cryptographic libraries.
Future plans for the solution include the ability to create smaller and larger “sandwiches” to access basic or broad functionality, as well as multi-layered “sandwiches” with an array of functions, such as enabling access to cryptography at different abstraction levels. - esecurityplanet.com
wolfSSL Featuring New Post Quantum Cryptography and country specific cipher support at Black Hat 2023
On 08 Aug 2023: wolfSSL has been busy adding support for post-quantum ciphers in all of our products, from TLS to curl to web servers to SSH, we now have solid post-quantum support for users looking to make the move to a higher level of security, or to hedge their way into cryptographic agility with post-quantum. - prweb.com
1st September 2023
