Granted Patent B2

US 12,316,740 · App. 18/521,958 · Granted May 27, 2025

Inventors: Craig Steven Wright (London, GB); Stephane Savanah (London, GB)

Assignee: NCHAIN LICENSING AG

H04L9/0618G06F8/31G06F8/41G06F8/433G06F8/443G06F8/452G06F8/51H04L9/0637H04L9/0643H04L9/3247H04L9/3297H04L9/50H04L2209/56

Abstract

Claims (26)

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving a portion of a source code as input, wherein the portion of the source code is written in a high-level language (HLL) that specifies a functionality;

generating or receiving an output script comprising a plurality of op_codes selected from and/or native to a functionally-restricted blockchain scripting language such that, when executed, the output script provides, at least in part, a functionality specified in the portion of the source code, wherein the functionally-restricted blockchain scripting language is restricted from supporting recursive programming constructs; and

executing the output script, wherein the functionally-restricted blockchain scripting language is stack-based and during execution of the output script, one or more op_code commands that test a condition evaluate as a TRUE or FALSE result and place the TRUE or FALSE result on top of a stack used by the functionally-restricted blockchain scripting language.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the output script is generated, wherein generating the output script comprises unrolling a looping construct provided in the portion of the source code, and wherein the looping construct comprises a block of code, a condition, and a maximum number of iterations.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2 , wherein the looping construct is a WHILE loop.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 2 , wherein unrolling the looping construct comprises replicating in the output script, a number of times equal to the maximum number of iterations, one or more op_code commands that test the condition followed by a sequence of op_codes that represent a functionality of the block of code embedded within an OP_IF/OP_ENDIF pair.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4 , wherein execution of an OP_IF statement will selectively execute a replicated block of code when the TRUE result is on top of the stack used by the functionally-restricted blockchain scripting language, such that when the FALSE result is on top of the stack used by the functionally-restricted blockchain scripting language, the execution of the OP_IF statement bypasses the execution of the replicated block of code.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 2 , wherein the maximum number of iterations is defined by a parameter specified in the looping construct.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the functionally-restricted blockchain scripting language does not natively support complex control- flow constructs, recursion, and jump-based loops.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the HLL comprises one or more primitives arranged to perform an operation on the stack used by the functionally- restricted blockchain scripting language.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein generating the output script is performed by a compiler.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising translating, by an interpreter, the output script into machine-executable code.

11. A computer-implemented system comprising one or more processors and a memory that stores computer-executable instructions that, as a result of execution by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

receive a portion of a source code as input, wherein the portion of the source code is written in a high-level language (HLL) that specifies a functionality;

generate or receive an output script comprising a plurality of op_codes selected from and/or native to a functionally-restricted blockchain scripting language such that, when executed, the output script provides, at least in part, a functionality specified in the portion of the source code, wherein the functionally-restricted blockchain scripting language is restricted from supporting recursive programming constructs; and

execute the output script, wherein the functionally-restricted blockchain scripting language is stack-based and during execution of the output script, one or more op_code commands that test a condition evaluate as a TRUE or FALSE result and place the TRUE or FALSE result on top of a stack used by the functionally-restricted blockchain scripting language.

12. The computer-implemented system of claim 11 , further comprising a compiler arranged to:

receive the portion of the source code as input, wherein the portion of the source code is written in a high-level language (HLL) that specifies a functionality;

generate or receive the output script comprising a plurality of op_codes selected from and/or native to a functionally-restricted blockchain scripting language such that, when executed, the output script provides, at least in part, the functionality specified in the portion of the source code, wherein the functionally-restricted blockchain scripting language is restricted from supporting recursive programming constructs,

wherein the output script is generated, wherein the step of generating the output script comprises unrolling a looping construct provided in the portion of the source code, and wherein the looping construct comprises a block of code, a condition, and a maximum number of iterations, and

wherein unrolling the looping construct comprises replicating in the output script, a number of times equal to the maximum number of iterations, one or more op_code commands that test the condition followed by a sequence of op_codes that represent a functionality of the block of code embedded within an OP_IF/OP_ENDIF pair; and

execute the output script, wherein the functionally-restricted blockchain scripting language is stack-based and during execution of the output script, one or more op_code commands that test a condition evaluate as a TRUE or FALSE result and place the TRUE or FALSE result on top of a stack used by the functionally-restricted blockchain scripting language.

13. The computer-implemented system of claim 12 , further comprising a software development kit.

14. The computer-implemented system of claim 12 ,

wherein execution of an OP_IF statement will selectively execute a replicated block of code when the TRUE result is on top of the stack used by the functionally-restricted blockchain scripting language, such that when the FALSE result is on top of the stack used by the functionally-restricted blockchain scripting language, the execution of the OP_IF statement bypasses the execution of the replicated block of code.

Assignments (4)

Priority Claims (6)

Continuity (3)

References Cited (91)