I've been working on regrinding three vpatches that are being considered for integration into the current TRB vtree (keccak).

These three vpatches, along with their signatures, are placed into this article (see below) for testing. They have been signed with my 'mod6-vpatch-testing' key. (For those who do not know, I use a secondary key for signing vpatches that are still considered "not final", "experimental", or "testing".)

Here are the vpatches and their seals (signatures) with my 'mod6-vpatch-testing' key. Most importantly, let it not go unsaid: Any vpatch signed with my 'mod6-vpatch-testing' key is for TESTING ONLY. You should NEVER use a vpatch in 'production' or 'battlefield' mode that has been signed with my vpatch testing key. Also, as always, be sure to read ALL code before you put it into use! Only you, dear reader, can be the guardian of your own safety.

Below are the three vpatches, currently in testing, along with their corresponding seals. I am also linking their historical posts to the btc-dev Mailing List.

A. mod6_phexdigit_fix.vpatch  [sig]
   Historical Link for phexdigit_fix:    * Original post to the btc-dev mailing list

B. mod6_excise_hash_truncation.vpatch  [sig]
   Historical Links for excise_hash_truncation:      * Original post to the btc-dev mailing list by ben_vulpes
     * Second post, follow up to the original, by ben_vulpes
     * Third post, first regrind of the original by me.
     * Fourth post, second regrind of the original.        Includes a manifest file, original vpatches and comments incorporated.

C. mod6_whogaveblox.vpatch  [sig]
   Historical Link for whogaveblox:      * Original post to the btc-dev ML by asciilifeform
   ** New single line change by me in a conditional statement.
      Here's a small snip of a diff of the vpatches:

@@ -16,7 +35,7 @@
 +    // Whose block we are trying.
 +    string peer_ip;
 +
-+    if (pfrom) {
++    if (pfrom != NULL) {


Building a testing vtree with these new vpatches:
1. You'll need a Keccak vtron, find 'starter_v_2.tar.gz' here, by diana_coman.
2. You'll need a full copy of the current TRB vtree (keccak); vpatches and their corresponding seals.
3. Place these in your patches and .seals directories respectively. 4. You'll need to place the vpatches for testing (phexdigit_fix, excise_hash_truncation, whogaveblox) in your 'patches' directory.
5. You'll need to place the their corresponding seals (signed with my 'mod6-vpatch-testing' key) into your '.seals' directory.
6. You'll need to get my main key and place it in your '.wot' directory.
7. You'll need to get my mod6-vpatch-testing key and place it in your '.wot' directory.
8. Now you should have 'mod6_whogaveblox.vpatch' as a single leaf:

mod6@gentoo ~ $ vk.pl l
Leaf: mod6_whogaveblox.vpatch (mod6-vpatch-testing)


9. You should have a flow that looks like this:

mod6@gentoo ~ $ vk.pl f
genesis.vpatch (mod6)
bitcoin-asciilifeform.1.vpatch (mod6)
rm_rf_upnp.vpatch (mod6)
bitcoin-asciilifeform.3-turdmeister-alert-snip.vpatch (mod6)
bitcoin-asciilifeform.2-https_snipsnip.vpatch (mod6)
bitcoin-asciilifeform.4-goodbye-win32.vpatch (mod6)
asciilifeform_dnsseed_snipsnip.vpatch (mod6)
asciilifeform_zap_hardcoded_seeds.vpatch (mod6)
asciilifeform-kills-integer-retardation.vpatch (mod6)
asciilifeform_zap_showmyip_crud.vpatch (mod6)
asciilifeform_dns_thermonyukyoolar_kleansing.vpatch (mod6)
asciilifeform_and_now_we_have_block_dumper_corrected.vpatch (mod6)
mod6_fix_dumpblock_params.vpatch (mod6)
bitcoin-v0_5_3_1-static_makefile_v002.8.vpatch (mod6)
bitcoin-v0_5_3_1-rev_bump.7.vpatch (mod6)
asciilifeform_ver_now_5_4_and_irc_is_gone_and_now_must_give_ip.vpatch (mod6)
asciilifeform_orphanage_thermonuke.vpatch (mod6)
asciilifeform_and_now_we_have_eatblock.vpatch (mod6)
bitcoin-v0_5_3-db_config.6.vpatch (mod6)
asciilifeform_tx-orphanage_amputation.vpatch (mod6)
asciilifeform_maxint_locks_corrected.vpatch (mod6)
asciilifeform_lets_lose_testnet.vpatch (mod6)
asciilifeform_add_verifyall_option.vpatch (mod6)
programmable-versionstring.vpatch (mod6)
mod6_der_high_low_s.vpatch (mod6)
malleus_mikehearnificarum.vpatch (mod6)
makefiles.vpatch (mod6)
asciilifeform_aggressive_pushgetblocks.vpatch (mod6)
mod6_privkey_tools.vpatch (mod6)
mod6_manifest.vpatch (mod6)
mod6_phexdigit_fix.vpatch (mod6-vpatch-testing)
mod6_excise_hash_truncation.vpatch (mod6-vpatch-testing)
mod6_whogaveblox.vpatch (mod6-vpatch-testing)


10. A press-path that looks like this:

mod6@gentoo ~ $ vk.pl pp mod6_whogaveblox.vpatch
genesis.vpatch (mod6)
bitcoin-asciilifeform.1.vpatch (mod6)
rm_rf_upnp.vpatch (mod6)
bitcoin-asciilifeform.2-https_snipsnip.vpatch (mod6)
bitcoin-asciilifeform.3-turdmeister-alert-snip.vpatch (mod6)
bitcoin-asciilifeform.4-goodbye-win32.vpatch (mod6)
bitcoin-v0_5_3-db_config.6.vpatch (mod6)
bitcoin-v0_5_3_1-rev_bump.7.vpatch (mod6)
bitcoin-v0_5_3_1-static_makefile_v002.8.vpatch (mod6)
asciilifeform-kills-integer-retardation.vpatch (mod6)
asciilifeform_and_now_we_have_block_dumper_corrected.vpatch (mod6)
asciilifeform_dnsseed_snipsnip.vpatch (mod6)
asciilifeform_maxint_locks_corrected.vpatch (mod6)
asciilifeform_orphanage_thermonuke.vpatch (mod6)
asciilifeform_tx-orphanage_amputation.vpatch (mod6)
asciilifeform_zap_hardcoded_seeds.vpatch (mod6)
asciilifeform_zap_showmyip_crud.vpatch (mod6)
mod6_fix_dumpblock_params.vpatch (mod6)
asciilifeform_dns_thermonyukyoolar_kleansing.vpatch (mod6)
asciilifeform_ver_now_5_4_and_irc_is_gone_and_now_must_give_ip.vpatch (mod6)
asciilifeform_and_now_we_have_eatblock.vpatch (mod6)
asciilifeform_lets_lose_testnet.vpatch (mod6)
asciilifeform_add_verifyall_option.vpatch (mod6)
programmable-versionstring.vpatch (mod6)
malleus_mikehearnificarum.vpatch (mod6)
mod6_der_high_low_s.vpatch (mod6)
mod6_privkey_tools.vpatch (mod6)
makefiles.vpatch (mod6)
asciilifeform_aggressive_pushgetblocks.vpatch (mod6)
mod6_manifest.vpatch (mod6)
mod6_phexdigit_fix.vpatch (mod6-vpatch-testing)
mod6_excise_hash_truncation.vpatch (mod6-vpatch-testing)
mod6_whogaveblox.vpatch (mod6-vpatch-testing)


As far as my own testing, I have been able to place these vpatches, along with their seals into V, and press all the way up through the single leaf, 'mod6_whogaveblox.vpatch'. After successful press, I was able to successfully compile TRB. I haven't completed any further testing as of yet. Testing is on-going, currently. I anticipate about 7 to 10 days of further testing before completion.
That's all for now -- upon successful testing, will be issuing final signatures with my main key for these vpatches (see above) in a follow up article.