Merge pull request #2449 from rnicoll/1.14.4-release-notes

1.14.4 release notes

2 files changed, 254 insertions, 82 deletions

diff --git a/doc/release-notes.md b/doc/release-notes.md
index b70a3448c..bde930ec2 100644
--- a/doc/release-notes.md
+++ b/doc/release-notes.md
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
-Dogecoin Core version 1.14.3 is now available from:
+Dogecoin Core version 1.14.4 is now available from:
 
-  <https://github.com/dogecoin/dogecoin/releases/tag/v1.14.3/>
+  <https://github.com/dogecoin/dogecoin/releases/tag/v1.14.4/>
 
 This is a new minor version release, including various bugfixes and performance improvements. It is a recommended
 update for all users.
@@ -15,102 +15,158 @@ To receive security and update notifications, please watch reddit or Twitter:
   * @Dogecoin on Twitter for high priority announcements
   * @dogecoin\_devs on Twitter for updates on development work
 
-The developers also maintain personal Twitter accounts:
-
-  * @langer\_hans
-  * @JRossNicoll
-
 Compatibility
 ==============
 
 Dogecoin Core is extensively tested on Ubuntu Server LTS, Mac OS X and Windows 10.
 
-Microsoft ended support for Windows XP on [April 8th, 2014](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/WindowsForBusiness/end-of-xp-support),
-No attempt is made to prevent installing or running the software on Windows XP, you
-can still do so at your own risk but be aware that there are known instabilities and issues.
-Please do not report issues about Windows XP to the issue tracker.
-
 Dogecoin Core should also work on most other Unix-like systems but is not
 frequently tested on them.
 
 Notable changes
 ===============
 
-Reduce CPU usage during sync
+Enabling Future Fee Reductions
+-------------------------------
+
+This release preparing the network for a reduction of the recommended fees by
+reducing the default fee requirement 1000x for transaction relay and 100x for
+mining. At the same time it increases freedom for miner, wallet and node
+operators to agree on fees regardless of defaults coded into the Dogecoin Core
+software by solidifying fine-grained controls for operators to deviate from
+built-in defaults.
+
+This realizes the first part of a two-stage update to lower the fee
+recommendation.
+
+The main highlights for these enhancements are:
+
+* Transaction sizes are no longer rounded up to the nearest kilobyte when
+  deciding if a transaction can be accepted from another node and in applying
+  fee-filter requests from peers, when relaying transactions.
+* The default setting shipped with dogecoin core for relay fee has been reduced
+  to 0.001 DOGE (was: 1 DOGE). This can be changed by operators using the
+  `-mintxrelayfee=<amount>` option.
+* Spam management has been delegated to miners, where currently a default fee
+  of 0.01 DOGE has been set as a recommended default, to prevent spam on the
+  blockchain. Miners can change this setting to their liking using the
+  `-blockmintxfee` option.
+* The relay dust limit has been reduced 100x to 0.01 DOGE and is now
+  configurable via the `-dustlimit` option.
+
+For this release, the recommended fees and dust limits, as implemented in the
+wallet, remain at 1 DOGE per kilobyte, inclusive of the rounding up to the
+nearest kilobyte, as miners and the relay network will upgrade gradually,
+requiring time for transactions with lower fees to be able to be relayed and
+mined. Not doing this would result in all transactions being rejected by old
+nodes. A subsequent release will finalize the second stage and lower the
+recommended fees implemented in the wallet by default. Wallet operators can
+however, at their own judgement and convenience, change the fees paid from
+their wallets with the `-paytxfee=<amount per kb>` option.
+
+Synchronization Improvements
 ----------------------------
 
-When loading block headers to send to a peer, the block was revalidated by calculating its proof of work. This is expensive and led to a bottleneck in the sync process where nodes were CPU rather than IO bound in sending blocks to ther peers.
-
-All block headers are already checked when they are accepted, and they will be checked again on the receiving node.
-
-Reduce default mempool expiry time
-----------------------------------
-
-Reduces DEFAULT_MEMPOOL_EXPIRY from 336 hours to 24 hours. Motivation is that while blocks are empty, un-relayable tx are stuck in mempools for a long time and effectively locking utxo for 2 weeks until they can be respent, if no RBF opt-in was performed (most wallet implementations do not do RBF opt-in.)
-
-As the expectation is that block space will not be fully utilized for the foreseeable future, and therefore, as long as this is the case, no valid transaction should ever live in the mempool for more than a couple of minutes.
-
-This default setting can be overridden with the -mempoolexpiry parameter by individual node operators to a value (expressed in hours) that makes the most sense for the use cases the node serves.
-
-Increase block download timeouts
---------------------------------
-
-Block download timeouts are expressed as a multiple of block interval, and as such Dogecoin block download times were relatively aggressive, leading to a high number of timeouts. Increased the timeouts to be more flexible to real world conditions.
-
-Add size_on_disk, prune_target_size, automatic_pruning to getblockchaininfo
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-* Fix pruneheight help text.
-* Move fPruneMode block to match output ordering with help text.
-* Add functional tests for new fields in getblockchaininfo.
-
-Add query options to listunspent RPC call
------------------------------------------
-
-* Return unspents greater or equal than a specific amount in DOGE: minimumAmount (default = 0).
-* Return unspents lower or equal than a specific amount in DOGE: maximumAmount (default=unlimited).
-* Return unspents with a total number lower or equal than a specific number: maximumCount (default=0=unlimited).
-* Return unspents which total is greater or equal than a specific amount in DOGE: minimumSumAmount (default=unlimited).
-
-Minor changes
+This release removes a bug in the network layer where a 1.14 node would open
+many parallel requests for headers to its peers, increasing the total data
+transferred during initial block download up to 50 times the required data, per
+peer, unnecessarily. As a result, synchronization has time has been reduced by
+around 2.5 times.
+
+Additionally, when a node is in initial synchronization and a peer takes too
+long to respond to a new header request, it is now aggressively disconnected,
+to free connection slots for faster peers and not add more stress to already
+overloaded peers.
+
+Security enhancements
+---------------------
+
+* Proactively disconnect peers sending block headers which would build on an
+  invalid chain.
+* Improve handling and logging of invalid blocks and their descendants
+* Fix a bug that was preventing nodes to load a fixed peer list in case DNS
+  services are unreachable.
+
+GUI Improvements
+----------------
+
+* Add menu option to import a private key, "Import Private Key" from the "File"
+  menu.
+* Improve displayed result when commands in the debug console return null.
+* Fix text overflow on printed keys and address fields in the paper wallet
+  generator.
+* Add column to peers table showing bytes sent/received, accessible via
+  "Debug Window" from the "Help" menu.
+* Add GUI for adding peers manually, accessible from the peers table of the
+  Debug Window.
+
+RPC Improvements
+----------------
+
+`getpeerinfo` now includes `feefilter` value for each peer, to be able to diagnose transaction relay issues.
+
+Minor Changes
 =============
 
-* Set BIP65 softfork heights in chainparams.cpp.
-* Update package links for OSX cross compilation.
-* Change IPC prefix from `bitcoin:` to `dogecoin:`.
-* Locale independent sorting.
-* Corrections to Italian translation.
-* Refresh main and test network checkpoints and seeds.
-* Do not print an error on connection timeouts through proxy.
-* Numerous fixes to automated tests.
-* Numerous fixes to documentation.
+* Corrections to French Canadian, Chinese, German, Indonesian, Korean, Polish and Portuguese translations.
+* Correct a bug that resulted in negative progress per hour being displayed during sync.
+* Regtest network can now generate AuxPoW blocks.
+* Add Snap packaging support.
+* Modify Scrypt code so it's compatible with Alpine Linux's musl library.
+* Update libevent to 2.1.11
+* Update ZMQ to 4.3.4
+* Add build instructions for NixOS.
+* Fix a rare crash bug on shutdown due to ActivateBestChain() being called when there is no best chain.
+* Fix port numbers in `contrib/seeds/generate-seeds.py`.
 
 Credits
 =======
 
-Thanks to everyone who directly contributed to this release:
-
-- Anthony Chen
-- Bertrand Jacquin
-- BT
-- Daniel Edgecumbe
-- Demon
-- Dennis Field
-- fluteds
-- Ikko Ashimine
-- John-Gee
-- Jonathan
-- Kent
-- leuqarte
-- Luis-Johannes Schubert
-- Marco
-- marcuswin
-- Max Keller
-- Patrick Lodder
-- Pedro Branco
-- Primo
-- Reiner Herrmann
-- Ross Nicoll
-- Shibe
-- tnaka
-- Vertian
+* AbcSxyZ
+* Ahmed Castro
+* Alan Rudolf
+* cg
+* chey
+* chromatic
+* Cory Fields
+* creekhu
+* Dakoda Greaves
+* David Millard
+* Demon
+* Dídac Coll Pujals
+* Escanor Liones
+* fanquake
+* Florian Schade
+* fmhc
+* Gabriel Gosselin Roberge
+* Gabriel Pérez
+* geekwisdom
+* Ikko Ashimine
+* Jeroen Ooms
+* Jerry Park
+* Joakim Taule Kartveit
+* katzenmalen
+* Khakim Hudaya
+* kregerl
+* lee5378
+* lynklody
+* Malta Micael
+* Matheus Tavares
+* Matt Domko
+* Maximilian Keller
+* MD Islam
+* Mich De L'Orme
+* Michi Lumin
+* motz0815
+* nformant
+* Patrick Lodder
+* Piotr Zajączkowski
+* p-j01
+* rht
+* Ross Nicoll
+* sabotagebeats
+* Shafil Alam
+* stefanwouldgo
+* Will
+* xt3r
+* Zach Latta
diff --git a/doc/release-notes/release-notes-1.14.3.md b/doc/release-notes/release-notes-1.14.3.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b70a3448c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/release-notes/release-notes-1.14.3.md
@@ -0,0 +1,116 @@
+Dogecoin Core version 1.14.3 is now available from:
+
+  <https://github.com/dogecoin/dogecoin/releases/tag/v1.14.3/>
+
+This is a new minor version release, including various bugfixes and performance improvements. It is a recommended
+update for all users.
+
+Please report bugs using the issue tracker at github:
+
+  <https://github.com/dogecoin/dogecoin/issues>
+
+To receive security and update notifications, please watch reddit or Twitter:
+
+  * https://www.reddit.com/r/dogecoin/
+  * @Dogecoin on Twitter for high priority announcements
+  * @dogecoin\_devs on Twitter for updates on development work
+
+The developers also maintain personal Twitter accounts:
+
+  * @langer\_hans
+  * @JRossNicoll
+
+Compatibility
+==============
+
+Dogecoin Core is extensively tested on Ubuntu Server LTS, Mac OS X and Windows 10.
+
+Microsoft ended support for Windows XP on [April 8th, 2014](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/WindowsForBusiness/end-of-xp-support),
+No attempt is made to prevent installing or running the software on Windows XP, you
+can still do so at your own risk but be aware that there are known instabilities and issues.
+Please do not report issues about Windows XP to the issue tracker.
+
+Dogecoin Core should also work on most other Unix-like systems but is not
+frequently tested on them.
+
+Notable changes
+===============
+
+Reduce CPU usage during sync
+----------------------------
+
+When loading block headers to send to a peer, the block was revalidated by calculating its proof of work. This is expensive and led to a bottleneck in the sync process where nodes were CPU rather than IO bound in sending blocks to ther peers.
+
+All block headers are already checked when they are accepted, and they will be checked again on the receiving node.
+
+Reduce default mempool expiry time
+----------------------------------
+
+Reduces DEFAULT_MEMPOOL_EXPIRY from 336 hours to 24 hours. Motivation is that while blocks are empty, un-relayable tx are stuck in mempools for a long time and effectively locking utxo for 2 weeks until they can be respent, if no RBF opt-in was performed (most wallet implementations do not do RBF opt-in.)
+
+As the expectation is that block space will not be fully utilized for the foreseeable future, and therefore, as long as this is the case, no valid transaction should ever live in the mempool for more than a couple of minutes.
+
+This default setting can be overridden with the -mempoolexpiry parameter by individual node operators to a value (expressed in hours) that makes the most sense for the use cases the node serves.
+
+Increase block download timeouts
+--------------------------------
+
+Block download timeouts are expressed as a multiple of block interval, and as such Dogecoin block download times were relatively aggressive, leading to a high number of timeouts. Increased the timeouts to be more flexible to real world conditions.
+
+Add size_on_disk, prune_target_size, automatic_pruning to getblockchaininfo
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+* Fix pruneheight help text.
+* Move fPruneMode block to match output ordering with help text.
+* Add functional tests for new fields in getblockchaininfo.
+
+Add query options to listunspent RPC call
+-----------------------------------------
+
+* Return unspents greater or equal than a specific amount in DOGE: minimumAmount (default = 0).
+* Return unspents lower or equal than a specific amount in DOGE: maximumAmount (default=unlimited).
+* Return unspents with a total number lower or equal than a specific number: maximumCount (default=0=unlimited).
+* Return unspents which total is greater or equal than a specific amount in DOGE: minimumSumAmount (default=unlimited).
+
+Minor changes
+=============
+
+* Set BIP65 softfork heights in chainparams.cpp.
+* Update package links for OSX cross compilation.
+* Change IPC prefix from `bitcoin:` to `dogecoin:`.
+* Locale independent sorting.
+* Corrections to Italian translation.
+* Refresh main and test network checkpoints and seeds.
+* Do not print an error on connection timeouts through proxy.
+* Numerous fixes to automated tests.
+* Numerous fixes to documentation.
+
+Credits
+=======
+
+Thanks to everyone who directly contributed to this release:
+
+- Anthony Chen
+- Bertrand Jacquin
+- BT
+- Daniel Edgecumbe
+- Demon
+- Dennis Field
+- fluteds
+- Ikko Ashimine
+- John-Gee
+- Jonathan
+- Kent
+- leuqarte
+- Luis-Johannes Schubert
+- Marco
+- marcuswin
+- Max Keller
+- Patrick Lodder
+- Pedro Branco
+- Primo
+- Reiner Herrmann
+- Ross Nicoll
+- Shibe
+- tnaka
+- Vertian