Building Amendments: Lifecycle and Core Protocol Impact
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Module Overview
Amendments are the mechanism by which the XRPL protocol evolves in a decentralized and coordinated manner. This module explores in depth the complete lifecycle of an amendment, from its initial proposal to final activation, as well as its impact on the core protocol and network coordination.
Understanding the amendment system is essential for any XRPL core developer, as it represents the process by which critical protocol changes are introduced, voted on, and activated across the network consensually. Unlike traditional software updates, XRPL amendments require distributed consensus among validators before being activated, ensuring network stability and consistency.
Throughout this module, we will follow the concrete example of Subscriptions (XLS-0078), an amendment that introduces recurring subscription payments on the ledger, to illustrate each step of the lifecycle and understand the underlying mechanisms.
What You Will Learn
By completing this module, you will be able to:
Understand the complete architecture of the amendment system in rippled and its integration with consensus
Trace the complete lifecycle of an amendment, from initial proposal to final activation on the ledger
Explain the validator voting mechanism and the activation threshold calculation (more than 80%)
Analyze the automatic activation process via EnableAmendment pseudo-transactions
Assess the impact of amendments on the core protocol and compatibility considerations
Understand the network coordination necessary to deploy amendments safely
Use monitoring tools to track amendment status in real-time
Explore the Topics
🏗️ Amendment Architecture
Fundamental components of the amendment system in rippled
Discover the internal architecture of the amendment system: AmendmentTable, AmendmentState, the data structures that track amendment state, and integration with the consensus engine. Understand how rippled manages the list of supported, obsolete, and retired amendments.
Link: Explore Amendment Architecture →
🔄 Amendment Lifecycle
From proposal to activation: the complete journey
Follow the complete lifecycle of the Subscriptions amendment through all its phases: proposal, voting, majority, activation, and enablement. Understand state transitions, critical timelines, and the flag ledgers that mark each step of the process.
Link: Explore Lifecycle →
🗳️ Voting and Activation
Distributed consensus mechanism for amendment adoption
Dive into the validator voting mechanism: how votes are collected via TrustedVotes, how the threshold (more than 80%) is calculated and verified, and how EnableAmendment pseudo-transactions are automatically generated after the two-week majority period.
Link: Explore Voting and Activation →
🌐 Core Protocol Impact
Architectural consequences and compatibility
Analyze the impact an activated amendment has on the core protocol: modification of consensus rules, changes to transaction validation, management of unsupported amendments, and backward/forward compatibility strategies.
Link: Explore Protocol Impact →
🤝 Network Coordination
Synchronization between validators and nodes
Explore how the network coordinates during an amendment deployment: communication via the overlay network, progressive deployment strategies, management of non-updated nodes, and contingency plans in case of problems.
Link: Explore Network Coordination →
📊 Monitoring and Tools
Real-time monitoring of amendment status
Master the monitoring tools: the feature RPC command, interpretation of status fields (count, threshold, majority, enabled), ledger explorers, and techniques to track an amendment's progression across the network.
Link: Explore Monitoring Tools →
Homework
This module includes a practical exercise to deepen your understanding:
Homework 1: Amendment Status Analysis - Analyze in detail the status of an amendment on the XRPL mainnet or testnet, interpret response fields, and calculate the activation timeline.
Knowledge Check
Test your understanding of amendment lifecycle and their protocol impact:
Questions
If you have any questions about the homework or would like us to review your work, feel free to contact us.
Navigation
➡️ Next Module: Conclusion
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