Arbitrary Messages

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Description

Transmission of data messages up to 1000 bytes in length from any account to any other account.

Details

Arbitrary messages are limited only by length. Any string can be transmitted, using any data structure or form of data encryption. Encoding, decoding, linked messages, data structures, and more can be implemented by any application that uses the system.

The base implementation allows for the transmission of simple, unencrypted text messages between accounts, but since the messages are truly "arbitrary" the range of possible applications is vast. Secure messaging, torrent applications, voting systems, data storage systems and even simple distributed applications have been suggested.

How To

Sending a message

Note: Messaging requires a node running Nxt version 0.5.6 or later.

  1. With your Nxt software running, browse to https://127.0.0.1:7876/message.html (or https://localhost:7876/message.html )
    • The Nxt "Messages" screen will appear
  2. Complete the form with the following entries:
    • Recipient: The account that will receive the message
    • Message:  The message you would like to send (up to 1000 characters)
      • Note: This message is transmitted in plain text. If you want to send it securely, you must encrypt it yourself, and make sure the recipient knows how to decrypt it. The "messaging" feature is easy and ope-ended on purpose and other developers will create tools for sending encrypted messages and data later.
    • Fee:  Expressed in Nxt. Enter the fee you are willing to pay for this transaction. The minimum fee is 1 Nxt.
    • Deadline:  Expressed in minutes.  Enter the number of minutes you are willing to wait before your order is automatically canceled by the network.
    • Secret phrase:  Your account passphrase.
  3. Click "Submit"
    • The server will respond with a transaction ID in the "server response" box, showing that the transaction has been created on the network.
    • When the transaction is confirmed, it will appear in the "transactions" block in your client interface with a "sent amount" equal to zero.

For additional information, see FAQ

Release Date

Arbitrary messages were implemented at a block height of 40,000 (approximately January 11, 2014)

External Links