Transfer lifecycle

This document describes a transfer from Alice's account to Bob's account.

Notarize transaction

Alice initiates a transfer by sending a signed notarizeTransaction message to the Notary. The message contains an accountLedger document and it contains a transfer transaction type.

The transaction contains two items:

• transfer
• contains information about the accounts that the transfer will be performed between
• balanceStatement
• contains a proposal about the balance and transaction/issued numbers if the transfer is successful

Everything is signed by Alice.

Alice initializes a transfer

Notary responds with @notarizeTransaction message. It contains accountLedger with transaction type atTransfer (response to transaction transfer). The transaction contains a response for each item. The items' status is acknowledgement or rejection.

• atBalanceStatement
• contains attribute outboxNewTransNum that contains number of new transaction that the Notary dropped to Alice's outbox and Bob's inbox.
• atTransfer

Both items contain an inReferenceTo the whole copy of original item. The response item is signed by the Notary to prove that the Notary agreed with it. Both items have set inReferenceTo, numberOfOrigin and transactionNum to origin Alice's transaction number.

When the Notary accepts Alice's transaction, the Notary creates a new pending transaction and puts it into Bob's inbox and Alice's outbox.

Alice expects a new transaction in her outbox, so she downloads it by combination of getAccountData, getBoxReceipt. TODO: why has Alice new copy of transfer.

Bob gets transfer to inbox

The same is done by Bob. Using getAccountData and getBoxReceipt messages, Bob downloads a new receipt from his inbox. The receipt contains a pending transaction signed by the Notary. The transaction contains Alice's original transfer with her signature.

Bob accepts the pending transaction by performing a new processInbox transaction. This transaction contains two items:

• acceptPending
• numberOfOrigin points to Alice's original transfer
• transactionNum is a new transaction number, same as processInbox
• inReferenceTo points to the transaction that Bob is responding to (generated by Notary after Alice sent transfer)
• balanceStatement with new proposed balance and transaction numbers

Notary accepts Bob's processInbox and sends atAcceptPending to Bob in reply. As Bob accepted the transfer, Notary generates a new transferReceipt transaction and drops it into Alice's inbox.

Alice gets a notification that the transfer is complete

Alice receives a new transferReceipt in her inbox.

• numberOfOrigin points to Alice's original transfer
• transactionNum is the new transaction number
• inReferenceTo points to Bob's processInbox
• inRefDisplay points to Alice's original transfer
• element inReferenceTo contains a copy of Bob's acceptPending, with his signature, so Alice has proof that Bob accepted the transfer and it is also signed by the Notary. TODO: we do not see that the client checks it, in the current code

Alice responds to transferReceipt by acceptItemReceipt in processInbox.

Notary sends atAcceptItemReceipt.