On June 6, 2024, Ethereum protocol developers gathered virtually for All Core Developers Execution (ACDE) Call #189, chaired by Ethereum Foundation (EF) Director of Protocol Support Tim Beiko. These bi-weekly calls serve as a platform to discuss and coordinate changes to Ethereum’s Execution Layer (EL). Among the major topics of discussion were the inclusion of EOF and EIP 7702 in the upcoming Pectra upgrade, the disabling of EIP 158, and the integration of EIP 4444.
spectra scope
Prior to the call, various EL client teams and the EF DevOps team shared their views on the scope of the Pectra upgrade. Except for Geth, most client teams are supported, including Pectra’s EOF. Geth developer Guillaume Ballet expressed concern that including EOF could delay the Verkle transition. However, other developers, including Reth’s Dragan Rakita, have argued that delays will be minimal and that EOF will significantly improve the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).
Beiko suggested bundling EOF with other Pectra EIPs for a single client release, but recommended using devnet for phased testing. This approach allows developers to prioritize testing and later decide whether to split EOF if significant delays occur.
Spectra specifications
Teku developer Mikhail Kalinin shared updates to the existing Pectra EIP specification, including a proposal to handle EL-triggered requests to the consensus layer (CL) through a sidecar mechanism. However, this proposal was withdrawn due to potential conflicts with future code changes such as Enshrined Proposer Builder Separation (ePBS).
Kalinin also proposed changes to the EL and Engine API specifications for Pectra, including enabling EL trigger integration in EIP 7251. Beiko recommended reviewing these changes before the next ACD call to finalize them for Devnet 1 testing.
Dress up preparation
Ballet has raised concerns about EIP 158 causing similar issues with the deprecated opcode SELFDESTRUCT. To avoid complications, he suggested disabling EIP 158 in the Pectra upgrade. Beiko proposed drafting a proposal for this deactivation while considering the timing of implementation of EIP 7702.
history expiration
Developers also discussed EIP 4444, which aims to reduce nodes’ storage of block records by removing data that is not critical to consensus after a certain period of time. Portal networks have been proposed as an alternative for querying Ethereum historical data. Merriam, from the Portal Network team, provided support to the EL client team in putting this network together, emphasizing the importance of collaboration to ensure timely progress.
ACD process improvements
Beiko proposed several improvements to the network upgrade process. First, he suggested reducing the frequency with which client teams discuss topics they haven’t reviewed in detail. Instead, these topics should be designated for review first and discussed thoroughly in follow-up calls. Second, he recommended creating a new label called “Proposals for Inclusion” (PFI) to better organize EIPs likely to be included in the hard fork.
EF DevOps Engineer Mario Vega suggested creating a new Discord subchannel to share testing updates and consolidate information currently scattered across multiple channels. The client team was asked to provide feedback on this proposal.
Lastly, Beiko reminded developers of two detailed meetings on ePBS on June 7th and PeerDAS on June 11th. For more information, you can check out the full article on Galaxy.com.
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