com.google.bitcoin.core.Block.java Source code

Java tutorial

Introduction

Here is the source code for com.google.bitcoin.core.Block.java

Source

/**
 * Copyright 2011 Google Inc.
 *
 * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
 * You may obtain a copy of the License at
 *
 *    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
 *
 * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
 * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
 * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
 * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 * limitations under the License.
 */

package com.google.bitcoin.core;

import com.google.common.base.Preconditions;
import org.slf4j.Logger;
import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;

import java.io.ByteArrayOutputStream;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.ObjectInputStream;
import java.io.OutputStream;
import java.math.BigInteger;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Collections;
import java.util.Date;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.LinkedList;
import org.apache.commons.codec.binary.Hex;

import static com.google.bitcoin.core.Utils.doubleDigest;
import static com.google.bitcoin.core.Utils.doubleDigestTwoBuffers;

/**
 * <p>A block is a group of transactions, and is one of the fundamental data structures of the Bitcoin system.
 * It records a set of {@link Transaction}s together with some data that links it into a place in the global block
 * chain, and proves that a difficult calculation was done over its contents. See
 * <a href="http://www.bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf">the Bitcoin technical paper</a> for
 * more detail on blocks. <p/>
 *
 * To get a block, you can either build one from the raw bytes you can get from another implementation, or request one
 * specifically using {@link Peer#getBlock(Sha256Hash)}, or grab one from a downloaded {@link BlockChain}.
 */
public class Block extends Message {
    private static final Logger log = LoggerFactory.getLogger(Block.class);
    private static final long serialVersionUID = 2738848929966035281L;

    /** How many bytes are required to represent a block header. */
    public static final int HEADER_SIZE = 80;

    static final long ALLOWED_TIME_DRIFT = 2 * 60 * 60; // Same value as official client.

    /** A value for difficultyTarget (nBits) that allows half of all possible hash solutions. Used in unit testing. */
    static final long EASIEST_DIFFICULTY_TARGET = 0x207fFFFFL;

    // For unit testing. If not zero, use this instead of the current time.
    static long fakeClock = 0;

    // Fields defined as part of the protocol format.
    long version;
    Sha256Hash prevBlockHash;
    Sha256Hash merkleRoot;
    long time;
    long difficultyTarget; // "nBits"
    long nonce;

    /** If null, it means this object holds only the headers. */
    List<Transaction> transactions;

    /** Stores the hash of the block. If null, getHash() will recalculate it. */
    private transient Sha256Hash hash;

    private transient boolean headerParsed;
    private transient boolean transactionsParsed;

    private transient boolean headerBytesValid;
    private transient boolean transactionBytesValid;

    /** Special case constructor, used for the genesis node, cloneAsHeader and unit tests. */
    Block(NetworkParameters params) {
        super(params);
        // Set up a few basic things. We are not complete after this though.
        version = 1;
        difficultyTarget = 0x1d07fff8L;
        time = System.currentTimeMillis() / 1000;
        prevBlockHash = Sha256Hash.ZERO_HASH;

        length = 80;
    }

    /**
     * Block generation constructor
     */
    public Block(NetworkParameters params, long version, Sha256Hash prevBlockHash, Sha256Hash merkleRoot, long time,
            long difficultyTarget, long nonce, List<Transaction> transactions) {
        super(params);
        this.version = version;
        this.prevBlockHash = prevBlockHash;
        this.merkleRoot = merkleRoot;
        this.time = time;
        this.difficultyTarget = difficultyTarget;
        this.nonce = nonce;
        this.transactions = new LinkedList<Transaction>();
        this.transactions.addAll(transactions);

    }

    /** Constructs a block object from the Bitcoin wire format. */
    public Block(NetworkParameters params, byte[] payloadBytes) throws ProtocolException {
        super(params, payloadBytes, 0, false, false, payloadBytes.length);
    }

    /**
     * Contruct a block object from the BitCoin wire format.
     * @param params NetworkParameters object.
     * @param parseLazy Whether to perform a full parse immediately or delay until a read is requested.
     * @param parseRetain Whether to retain the backing byte array for quick reserialization.  
     * If true and the backing byte array is invalidated due to modification of a field then 
     * the cached bytes may be repopulated and retained if the message is serialized again in the future.
     * @param length The length of message if known.  Usually this is provided when deserializing of the wire
     * as the length will be provided as part of the header.  If unknown then set to Message.UNKNOWN_LENGTH
     * @throws ProtocolException
     */
    public Block(NetworkParameters params, byte[] payloadBytes, boolean parseLazy, boolean parseRetain, int length)
            throws ProtocolException {
        super(params, payloadBytes, 0, parseLazy, parseRetain, length);
    }

    private void readObject(ObjectInputStream ois) throws ClassNotFoundException, IOException {
        ois.defaultReadObject();
        // This code is not actually necessary, as transient fields are initialized to the default value which is in
        // this case null. However it clears out a FindBugs warning and makes it explicit what we're doing.
        hash = null;
    }

    private void parseHeader() {

        if (headerParsed)
            return;

        cursor = offset;
        version = readUint32();
        prevBlockHash = readHash();
        merkleRoot = readHash();
        time = readUint32();
        difficultyTarget = readUint32();
        nonce = readUint32();

        hash = new Sha256Hash(Utils.reverseBytes(Utils.doubleDigest(bytes, offset, cursor)));

        headerParsed = true;
        headerBytesValid = parseRetain;
    }

    private void parseTransactions() throws ProtocolException {

        if (transactionsParsed)
            return;

        cursor = offset + HEADER_SIZE;
        if (bytes.length == cursor) {
            // This message is just a header, it has no transactions.
            transactionsParsed = true;
            transactionBytesValid = false;
            return;
        }

        int numTransactions = (int) readVarInt();
        transactions = new ArrayList<Transaction>(numTransactions);
        for (int i = 0; i < numTransactions; i++) {
            Transaction tx = new Transaction(params, bytes, cursor, this, parseLazy, parseRetain, UNKNOWN_LENGTH);
            transactions.add(tx);
            cursor += tx.getMessageSize();
        }
        // No need to set length here. If length was not provided then it should be set at the end of parseLight().
        // If this is a genuine lazy parse then length must have been provided to the constructor.
        transactionsParsed = true;
        transactionBytesValid = parseRetain;
    }

    void parse() throws ProtocolException {
        parseHeader();
        parseTransactions();
        length = cursor - offset;
    }

    protected void parseLite() throws ProtocolException {
        // Ignore the header since it has fixed length. If length is not provided we will have to
        // invoke a light parse of transactions to calculate the length.
        if (length == UNKNOWN_LENGTH) {
            Preconditions.checkState(parseLazy,
                    "Performing lite parse of block transaction as block was initialised from byte array "
                            + "without providing length.  This should never need to happen.");
            parseTransactions();
            length = cursor - offset;
        } else {
            transactionBytesValid = !transactionsParsed || parseRetain && length > HEADER_SIZE;
        }
        headerBytesValid = !headerParsed || parseRetain && length >= HEADER_SIZE;
    }

    /*
     * Block uses some special handling for lazy parsing and retention of cached bytes. Parsing and serializing the
     * block header and the transaction list are both non-trivial so there are good efficiency gains to be had by
     * separating them. There are many cases where a user may need access to access or change one or the other but not both.
     *
     * With this in mind we ignore the inherited checkParse() and unCache() methods and implement a separate version
     * of them for both header and transactions.
     *
     * Serializing methods are also handled in their own way. Whilst they deal with separate parts of the block structure
     * there are some interdependencies. For example altering a tx requires invalidating the Merkle root and therefore
     * the cached header bytes.
     */
    private void maybeParseHeader() {
        if (headerParsed || bytes == null)
            return;
        parseHeader();
        if (!(headerBytesValid || transactionBytesValid))
            bytes = null;
    }

    private void maybeParseTransactions() {
        if (transactionsParsed || bytes == null)
            return;
        try {
            parseTransactions();
            if (!parseRetain) {
                transactionBytesValid = false;
                if (headerParsed)
                    bytes = null;
            }
        } catch (ProtocolException e) {
            throw new LazyParseException(
                    "ProtocolException caught during lazy parse.  For safe access to fields call ensureParsed before attempting read or write access",
                    e);
        }
    }

    /**
     * Ensure the object is parsed if needed. This should be called in every getter before returning a value. If the
     * lazy parse flag is not set this is a method returns immediately.
     */
    protected void maybeParse() {
        throw new LazyParseException(
                "checkParse() should never be called on a Block.  Instead use checkParseHeader() and checkParseTransactions()");
    }

    /**
     * In lazy parsing mode access to getters and setters may throw an unchecked LazyParseException.  If guaranteed
     * safe access is required this method will force parsing to occur immediately thus ensuring LazyParseExeption will
     * never be thrown from this Message. If the Message contains child messages (e.g. a Block containing Transaction
     * messages) this will not force child messages to parse.
     *
     * This method ensures parsing of both headers and transactions.
     *
     * @throws ProtocolException
     */
    public void ensureParsed() throws ProtocolException {
        try {
            maybeParseHeader();
            maybeParseTransactions();
        } catch (LazyParseException e) {
            if (e.getCause() instanceof ProtocolException)
                throw (ProtocolException) e.getCause();
            throw new ProtocolException(e);
        }
    }

    /**
     * In lazy parsing mode access to getters and setters may throw an unchecked LazyParseException.  If guaranteed
     * safe access is required this method will force parsing to occur immediately thus ensuring LazyParseExeption
     * will never be thrown from this Message. If the Message contains child messages (e.g. a Block containing
     * Transaction messages) this will not force child messages to parse.
     *
     * This method ensures parsing of headers only.
     *
     * @throws ProtocolException
     */
    public void ensureParsedHeader() throws ProtocolException {
        try {
            maybeParseHeader();
        } catch (LazyParseException e) {
            if (e.getCause() instanceof ProtocolException)
                throw (ProtocolException) e.getCause();
            throw new ProtocolException(e);
        }
    }

    /**
     * In lazy parsing mode access to getters and setters may throw an unchecked LazyParseException.  If guaranteed
     * safe access is required this method will force parsing to occur immediately thus ensuring LazyParseExeption will
     * never be thrown from this Message. If the Message contains child messages (e.g. a Block containing Transaction
     * messages) this will not force child messages to parse.
     *
     * This method ensures parsing of transactions only.
     *
     * @throws ProtocolException
     */
    public void ensureParsedTransactions() throws ProtocolException {
        try {
            maybeParseTransactions();
        } catch (LazyParseException e) {
            if (e.getCause() instanceof ProtocolException)
                throw (ProtocolException) e.getCause();
            throw new ProtocolException(e);
        }
    }

    private void writeHeader(OutputStream stream) throws IOException {
        // try for cached write first
        if (headerBytesValid && bytes != null && bytes.length >= offset + HEADER_SIZE) {
            stream.write(bytes, offset, HEADER_SIZE);
            return;
        }
        // fall back to manual write
        maybeParseHeader();
        Utils.uint32ToByteStreamLE(version, stream);
        stream.write(Utils.reverseBytes(prevBlockHash.getBytes()));
        stream.write(Utils.reverseBytes(getMerkleRoot().getBytes()));
        Utils.uint32ToByteStreamLE(time, stream);
        Utils.uint32ToByteStreamLE(difficultyTarget, stream);
        Utils.uint32ToByteStreamLE(nonce, stream);
    }

    private void writeTransactions(OutputStream stream) throws IOException {
        // check for no transaction conditions first
        // must be a more efficient way to do this but I'm tired atm.
        if (transactions == null && transactionsParsed) {
            return;
        }

        // confirmed we must have transactions either cached or as objects.
        if (transactionBytesValid && bytes != null && bytes.length >= offset + length) {
            stream.write(bytes, offset + HEADER_SIZE, length - HEADER_SIZE);
            return;
        }

        if (transactions != null) {
            stream.write(new VarInt(transactions.size()).encode());
            for (Transaction tx : transactions) {
                tx.bitcoinSerialize(stream);
            }
        }
    }

    /**
     * Special handling to check if we have a valid byte array for both header
     * and transactions
     *
     * @throws IOException
     */
    public byte[] bitcoinSerialize() {

        // we have completely cached byte array.
        if (headerBytesValid && transactionBytesValid) {
            Preconditions.checkNotNull(bytes,
                    "Bytes should never be null if headerBytesValid && transactionBytesValid");
            if (length == bytes.length) {
                return bytes;
            } else {
                // byte array is offset so copy out the correct range.
                byte[] buf = new byte[length];
                System.arraycopy(bytes, offset, buf, 0, length);
                return buf;
            }
        }

        // At least one of the two cacheable components is invalid
        // so fall back to stream write since we can't be sure of the length.
        ByteArrayOutputStream stream = new UnsafeByteArrayOutputStream(
                length == UNKNOWN_LENGTH ? HEADER_SIZE + guessTransactionsLength() : length);
        try {
            writeHeader(stream);
            writeTransactions(stream);
        } catch (IOException e) {
            // Cannot happen, we are serializing to a memory stream.
        }
        return stream.toByteArray();
    }

    @Override
    protected void bitcoinSerializeToStream(OutputStream stream) throws IOException {
        writeHeader(stream);
        // We may only have enough data to write the header.
        writeTransactions(stream);
    }

    /**
     * Provides a reasonable guess at the byte length of the transactions part of the block.
     * The returned value will be accurate in 99% of cases and in those cases where not will probably slightly
     * oversize.
     *
     * This is used to preallocate the underlying byte array for a ByteArrayOutputStream.  If the size is under the
     * real value the only penalty is resizing of the underlying byte array.
     */
    private int guessTransactionsLength() {
        if (transactionBytesValid)
            return bytes.length - HEADER_SIZE;
        if (transactions == null)
            return 0;
        int len = VarInt.sizeOf(transactions.size());
        for (Transaction tx : transactions) {
            // 255 is just a guess at an average tx length
            len += tx.length == UNKNOWN_LENGTH ? 255 : tx.length;
        }
        return len;
    }

    protected void unCache() {
        // Since we have alternate uncache methods to use internally this will only ever be called by a child
        // transaction so we only need to invalidate that part of the cache.
        unCacheTransactions();
    }

    private void unCacheHeader() {
        maybeParseHeader();
        headerBytesValid = false;
        if (!transactionBytesValid)
            bytes = null;
        hash = null;
        checksum = null;
    }

    private void unCacheTransactions() {
        maybeParseTransactions();
        transactionBytesValid = false;
        if (!headerBytesValid)
            bytes = null;
        // Current implementation has to uncache headers as well as any change to a tx will alter the merkle root. In
        // future we can go more granular and cache merkle root separately so rest of the header does not need to be
        // rewritten.
        unCacheHeader();
        // Clear merkleRoot last as it may end up being parsed during unCacheHeader().
        merkleRoot = null;
    }

    /**
     * Calculates the block hash by serializing the block and hashing the
     * resulting bytes.
     */
    private Sha256Hash calculateHash() {
        try {
            ByteArrayOutputStream bos = new UnsafeByteArrayOutputStream(HEADER_SIZE);
            writeHeader(bos);
            byte[] hash_bytes = bos.toByteArray();
            System.out.println(Hex.encodeHexString(hash_bytes));

            return new Sha256Hash(Utils.reverseBytes(doubleDigest(bos.toByteArray())));
        } catch (IOException e) {
            throw new RuntimeException(e); // Cannot happen.
        }
    }

    /**
     * Returns the hash of the block (which for a valid, solved block should be below the target) in the form seen on
     * the block explorer. If you call this on block 1 in the production chain
     * you will get "00000000839a8e6886ab5951d76f411475428afc90947ee320161bbf18eb6048".
     */
    public String getHashAsString() {
        return getHash().toString();
    }

    /**
     * Returns the hash of the block (which for a valid, solved block should be
     * below the target). Big endian.
     */
    public Sha256Hash getHash() {
        if (hash == null)
            hash = calculateHash();
        return hash;
    }

    /**
     * The number that is one greater than the largest representable SHA-256
     * hash.
     */
    static private BigInteger LARGEST_HASH = BigInteger.ONE.shiftLeft(256);

    /**
     * Returns the work represented by this block.<p>
     *
     * Work is defined as the number of tries needed to solve a block in the
     * average case. Consider a difficulty target that covers 5% of all possible
     * hash values. Then the work of the block will be 20. As the target gets
     * lower, the amount of work goes up.
     */
    public BigInteger getWork() throws VerificationException {
        BigInteger target = getDifficultyTargetAsInteger();
        return LARGEST_HASH.divide(target.add(BigInteger.ONE));
    }

    /** Returns a copy of the block, but without any transactions. */
    public Block cloneAsHeader() {
        maybeParseHeader();
        Block block = new Block(params);
        block.nonce = nonce;
        block.prevBlockHash = prevBlockHash.duplicate();
        block.merkleRoot = getMerkleRoot().duplicate();
        block.version = version;
        block.time = time;
        block.difficultyTarget = difficultyTarget;
        block.transactions = null;
        block.hash = getHash().duplicate();
        return block;
    }

    /**
     * Returns a multi-line string containing a description of the contents of
     * the block. Use for debugging purposes only.
     */
    @Override
    public String toString() {
        StringBuffer s = new StringBuffer("v" + version + " block: \n" + "   previous block: "
                + prevBlockHash.toString() + "\n" + "   merkle root: " + getMerkleRoot().toString() + "\n"
                + "   time: [" + time + "] " + new Date(time * 1000).toString() + "\n"
                + "   difficulty target (nBits): " + difficultyTarget + "\n" + "   nonce: " + nonce + "\n");
        if (transactions != null && transactions.size() > 0) {
            s.append("   with ").append(transactions.size()).append(" transaction(s):\n");
            for (Transaction tx : transactions) {
                s.append(tx.toString());
            }
        }
        return s.toString();
    }

    /**
     * Finds a value of nonce that makes the blocks hash lower than the difficulty target. This is called mining, but
     * solve() is far too slow to do real mining with. It exists only for unit testing purposes and is not a part of
     * the public API.
    *
     * This can loop forever if a solution cannot be found solely by incrementing nonce. It doesn't change extraNonce.
     */
    void solve() {
        maybeParseHeader();
        while (true) {
            try {
                // Is our proof of work valid yet?
                if (checkProofOfWork(false))
                    return;
                // No, so increment the nonce and try again.
                setNonce(getNonce() + 1);
            } catch (VerificationException e) {
                throw new RuntimeException(e); // Cannot happen.
            }
        }
    }

    /**
     * Returns the difficulty target as a 256 bit value that can be compared to a SHA-256 hash. Inside a block the
     * target is represented using a compact form. If this form decodes to a value that is out of bounds, an exception
     * is thrown.
     */
    public BigInteger getDifficultyTargetAsInteger() throws VerificationException {
        maybeParseHeader();
        BigInteger target = Utils.decodeCompactBits(difficultyTarget);
        if (target.compareTo(BigInteger.valueOf(0)) <= 0 || target.compareTo(params.proofOfWorkLimit) > 0)
            throw new VerificationException("Difficulty target is bad: " + target.toString());
        return target;
    }

    /** Returns true if the hash of the block is OK (lower than difficulty target). */
    private boolean checkProofOfWork(boolean throwException) throws VerificationException {
        // This part is key - it is what proves the block was as difficult to make as it claims
        // to be. Note however that in the context of this function, the block can claim to be
        // as difficult as it wants to be .... if somebody was able to take control of our network
        // connection and fork us onto a different chain, they could send us valid blocks with
        // ridiculously easy difficulty and this function would accept them.
        //
        // To prevent this attack from being possible, elsewhere we check that the difficultyTarget
        // field is of the right value. This requires us to have the preceeding blocks.
        BigInteger target = getDifficultyTargetAsInteger();

        BigInteger h = getHash().toBigInteger();
        if (h.compareTo(target) > 0) {
            // Proof of work check failed!
            if (throwException)
                throw new VerificationException(
                        "Hash is higher than target: " + getHashAsString() + " vs " + target.toString(16));
            else
                return false;
        }
        return true;
    }

    private void checkTimestamp() throws VerificationException {
        maybeParseHeader();
        // Allow injection of a fake clock to allow unit testing.
        long currentTime = fakeClock != 0 ? fakeClock : System.currentTimeMillis() / 1000;
        if (time > currentTime + ALLOWED_TIME_DRIFT)
            throw new VerificationException("Block too far in future");
    }

    private void checkMerkleRoot() throws VerificationException {
        Sha256Hash calculatedRoot = calculateMerkleRoot();
        if (!calculatedRoot.equals(merkleRoot)) {
            log.error("Merkle tree did not verify");
            throw new VerificationException("Merkle hashes do not match: " + calculatedRoot + " vs " + merkleRoot);
        }
    }

    private Sha256Hash calculateMerkleRoot() {
        List<byte[]> tree = buildMerkleTree();
        return new Sha256Hash(tree.get(tree.size() - 1));
    }

    private List<byte[]> buildMerkleTree() {
        // The Merkle root is based on a tree of hashes calculated from the transactions:
        //
        //     root
        //      / \
        //   A      B
        //  / \    / \
        // t1 t2 t3 t4
        //
        // The tree is represented as a list: t1,t2,t3,t4,A,B,root where each
        // entry is a hash.
        //
        // The hashing algorithm is double SHA-256. The leaves are a hash of the serialized contents of the transaction.
        // The interior nodes are hashes of the concenation of the two child hashes.
        //
        // This structure allows the creation of proof that a transaction was included into a block without having to
        // provide the full block contents. Instead, you can provide only a Merkle branch. For example to prove tx2 was
        // in a block you can just provide tx2, the hash(tx1) and B. Now the other party has everything they need to
        // derive the root, which can be checked against the block header. These proofs aren't used right now but
        // will be helpful later when we want to download partial block contents.
        //
        // Note that if the number of transactions is not even the last tx is repeated to make it so (see
        // tx3 above). A tree with 5 transactions would look like this:
        //
        //         root
        //        /     \
        //       1        5
        //     /   \     / \
        //    2     3    4  4
        //  / \   / \   / \
        // t1 t2 t3 t4 t5 t5
        maybeParseTransactions();
        ArrayList<byte[]> tree = new ArrayList<byte[]>();
        // Start by adding all the hashes of the transactions as leaves of the tree.
        for (Transaction t : transactions) {
            tree.add(t.getHash().getBytes());
        }
        int levelOffset = 0; // Offset in the list where the currently processed level starts.
        // Step through each level, stopping when we reach the root (levelSize == 1).
        for (int levelSize = transactions.size(); levelSize > 1; levelSize = (levelSize + 1) / 2) {
            // For each pair of nodes on that level:
            for (int left = 0; left < levelSize; left += 2) {
                // The right hand node can be the same as the left hand, in the case where we don't have enough
                // transactions.
                int right = Math.min(left + 1, levelSize - 1);
                byte[] leftBytes = Utils.reverseBytes(tree.get(levelOffset + left));
                byte[] rightBytes = Utils.reverseBytes(tree.get(levelOffset + right));
                tree.add(Utils.reverseBytes(doubleDigestTwoBuffers(leftBytes, 0, 32, rightBytes, 0, 32)));
            }
            // Move to the next level.
            levelOffset += levelSize;
        }
        return tree;
    }

    private void checkTransactions() throws VerificationException {
        // The first transaction in a block must always be a coinbase transaction.
        if (!transactions.get(0).isCoinBase())
            throw new VerificationException("First tx is not coinbase");
        // The rest must not be.
        for (int i = 1; i < transactions.size(); i++) {
            if (transactions.get(i).isCoinBase())
                throw new VerificationException("TX " + i + " is coinbase when it should not be.");
        }
    }

    /**
     * Checks the block data to ensure it follows the rules laid out in the network parameters. Specifically,
     * throws an exception if the proof of work is invalid, or if the timestamp is too far from what it should be.
     * This is <b>not</b> everything that is required for a block to be valid, only what is checkable independent
     * of the chain and without a transaction index.
     *
     * @throws VerificationException
     */
    public void verifyHeader() throws VerificationException {
        // Prove that this block is OK. It might seem that we can just ignore most of these checks given that the
        // network is also verifying the blocks, but we cannot as it'd open us to a variety of obscure attacks.
        //
        // Firstly we need to ensure this block does in fact represent real work done. If the difficulty is high
        // enough, it's probably been done by the network.
        maybeParseHeader();
        checkProofOfWork(true);
        checkTimestamp();
    }

    /**
     * Checks the block contents
     *
     * @throws VerificationException
     */
    public void verifyTransactions() throws VerificationException {
        // Now we need to check that the body of the block actually matches the headers. The network won't generate
        // an invalid block, but if we didn't validate this then an untrusted man-in-the-middle could obtain the next
        // valid block from the network and simply replace the transactions in it with their own fictional
        // transactions that reference spent or non-existant inputs.
        Preconditions.checkState(!transactions.isEmpty());
        maybeParseTransactions();
        checkTransactions();
        checkMerkleRoot();
    }

    /**
     * Verifies both the header and that the transactions hash to the merkle root.
     */
    public void verify() throws VerificationException {
        verifyHeader();
        verifyTransactions();
    }

    @Override
    public boolean equals(Object o) {
        if (!(o instanceof Block))
            return false;
        Block other = (Block) o;
        return getHash().equals(other.getHash());
    }

    @Override
    public int hashCode() {
        return getHash().hashCode();
    }

    /**
     * Returns the merkle root in big endian form, calculating it from transactions if necessary.
     */
    public Sha256Hash getMerkleRoot() {
        maybeParseHeader();
        if (merkleRoot == null) {

            //TODO check if this is really necessary.
            unCacheHeader();

            merkleRoot = calculateMerkleRoot();
        }
        return merkleRoot;
    }

    /** Exists only for unit testing. */
    void setMerkleRoot(Sha256Hash value) {
        unCacheHeader();
        merkleRoot = value;
        hash = null;
    }

    /** Adds a transaction to this block. The nonce and merkle root are invalid after this. */
    public void addTransaction(Transaction t) {
        unCacheTransactions();
        if (transactions == null) {
            transactions = new ArrayList<Transaction>();
        }
        t.setParent(this);
        if (transactions.size() == 0 && !t.isCoinBase())
            throw new RuntimeException(
                    "Attempted to add a non-coinbase transaction as the first transaction: " + t);
        else if (transactions.size() > 0 && t.isCoinBase())
            throw new RuntimeException("Attempted to add a coinbase transaction when there already is one: " + t);
        transactions.add(t);
        adjustLength(transactions.size(), t.length);
        // Force a recalculation next time the values are needed.
        merkleRoot = null;
        hash = null;
    }

    /** Returns the version of the block data structure as defined by the BitCoin protocol. */
    public long getVersion() {
        maybeParseHeader();
        return version;
    }

    /**
     * Returns the hash of the previous block in the chain, as defined by the block header.
     */
    public Sha256Hash getPrevBlockHash() {
        maybeParseHeader();
        return prevBlockHash;
    }

    void setPrevBlockHash(Sha256Hash prevBlockHash) {
        unCacheHeader();
        this.prevBlockHash = prevBlockHash;
        this.hash = null;
    }

    /**
     * Returns the time at which the block was solved and broadcast, according to the clock of the solving node. This
     * is measured in seconds since the UNIX epoch (midnight Jan 1st 1970).
     */
    public long getTimeSeconds() {
        maybeParseHeader();
        return time;
    }

    /**
     * Returns the time at which the block was solved and broadcast, according to the clock of the solving node.
     */
    public Date getTime() {
        return new Date(getTimeSeconds() * 1000);
    }

    void setTime(long time) {
        unCacheHeader();
        this.time = time;
        this.hash = null;
    }

    /**
     * Returns the difficulty of the proof of work that this block should meet encoded in compact form. The {@link
     * BlockChain} verifies that this is not too easy by looking at the length of the chain when the block is added.
     * To find the actual value the hash should be compared against, use getDifficultyTargetBI.
     */
    public long getDifficultyTarget() {
        maybeParseHeader();
        return difficultyTarget;
    }

    void setDifficultyTarget(long compactForm) {
        unCacheHeader();
        this.difficultyTarget = compactForm;
        this.hash = null;
    }

    /**
     * Returns the nonce, an arbitrary value that exists only to make the hash of the block header fall below the
     * difficulty target.
     */
    public long getNonce() {
        maybeParseHeader();
        return nonce;
    }

    void setNonce(long nonce) {
        unCacheHeader();
        this.nonce = nonce;
        this.hash = null;
    }

    public List<Transaction> getTransactions() {
        maybeParseTransactions();
        return Collections.unmodifiableList(transactions);
    }

    // ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
    // Unit testing related methods.

    // Used to make transactions unique.
    static private int txCounter;

    /** Adds a coinbase transaction to the block. This exists for unit tests. */
    void addCoinbaseTransaction(byte[] pubKeyTo) {
        unCacheTransactions();
        transactions = new ArrayList<Transaction>();
        Transaction coinbase = new Transaction(params);
        // A real coinbase transaction has some stuff in the scriptSig like the extraNonce and difficulty. The
        // transactions are distinguished by every TX output going to a different key.
        //
        // Here we will do things a bit differently so a new address isn't needed every time. We'll put a simple
        // counter in the scriptSig so every transaction has a different hash.
        coinbase.addInput(new TransactionInput(params, coinbase, new byte[] { (byte) txCounter++ }));
        coinbase.addOutput(new TransactionOutput(params, coinbase, Script.createOutputScript(pubKeyTo)));
        transactions.add(coinbase);
        coinbase.setParent(this);
        coinbase.length = coinbase.bitcoinSerialize().length;
        adjustLength(transactions.size(), coinbase.length);
    }

    static final byte[] EMPTY_BYTES = new byte[32];

    /**
     * Returns a solved block that builds on top of this one. This exists for unit tests.
     */
    Block createNextBlock(Address to, long time) {
        return createNextBlock(to, time, EMPTY_BYTES);
    }

    /**
     * Returns a solved block that builds on top of this one. This exists for unit tests.
     * In this variant you can specify a public key (pubkey) for use in generating coinbase blocks.
     */
    Block createNextBlock(Address to, long time, byte[] pubKey) {
        Block b = new Block(params);
        b.setDifficultyTarget(difficultyTarget);
        b.addCoinbaseTransaction(pubKey);

        if (to != null) {
            // Add a transaction paying 50 coins to the "to" address.
            Transaction t = new Transaction(params);
            t.addOutput(new TransactionOutput(params, t, Utils.toNanoCoins(50, 0), to));
            // The input does not really need to be a valid signature, as long as it has the right general form.
            TransactionInput input = new TransactionInput(params, t,
                    Script.createInputScript(EMPTY_BYTES, EMPTY_BYTES));
            // Importantly the outpoint hash cannot be zero as that's how we detect a coinbase transaction in isolation
            // but it must be unique to avoid 'different' transactions looking the same.
            byte[] counter = new byte[32];
            counter[0] = (byte) txCounter++;
            counter[1] = 1;
            input.getOutpoint().setHash(new Sha256Hash(counter));
            t.addInput(input);
            b.addTransaction(t);
        }

        b.setPrevBlockHash(getHash());
        b.setTime(time);
        b.solve();
        try {
            b.verifyHeader();
        } catch (VerificationException e) {
            throw new RuntimeException(e); // Cannot happen.
        }
        return b;
    }

    // Visible for testing.
    public Block createNextBlock(Address to) {
        return createNextBlock(to, Utils.now().getTime() / 1000);
    }

    /**
     * Create a block sending 50BTC as a coinbase transaction to the public key specified.
     * This method is intended for test use only.
     */
    Block createNextBlockWithCoinbase(byte[] pubKey) {
        return createNextBlock(null, Utils.now().getTime() / 1000, pubKey);
    }

    /**
     * Used for unit test
     *
     * @return the headerParsed
     */
    boolean isParsedHeader() {
        return headerParsed;
    }

    /**
     * Used for unit test
     *
     * @return the transactionsParsed
     */
    boolean isParsedTransactions() {
        return transactionsParsed;
    }

    /**
     * Used for unit test
     *
     * @return the headerBytesValid
     */
    boolean isHeaderBytesValid() {
        return headerBytesValid;
    }

    /**
     * Used for unit test
     *
     * @return the transactionBytesValid
     */
    boolean isTransactionBytesValid() {
        return transactionBytesValid;
    }

}