Bitcoin Script, the programming language used for Bitcoin, allows for the creation of various applications and features by utilizing basic components, known as primitives. These primitives are designed in a way that developers can decide how to use them to create applications or programs without the language focusing on the specific goals or preventing certain actions.
Although Bitcoin Script shares similarities with other programming languages, it has unique properties related to the blockchain and financial incentives that must remain balanced. Primitives should enable developers to build useful applications for users without causing harm or detrimental consequences.
Discussions around softforks to add covenants should focus on analyzing risks, such as verification costs, complexity, and potential impact on incentives, rather than obsessing over every possible application of the new primitives. It is essential to consider how new primitives can improve the trust model for end users without introducing new risks or negatively affecting existing incentives.
The conversation should center on the balance between providing valuable functionality to end users and avoiding detrimental consequences, emphasizing the primitives and their potential impact on the system.
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<p>The post Title: Exploring Bitcoin Primitives: Building Useful Applications without End User Harm first appeared on CoinBuzzFeed.</p>