Peercoin v0.4.0 Released - Please Upgrade Before May 4th 14:00 UTC

I know some of you are eagerly waiting for the new release. However remember both peercoin and primecoin are handled as mission critical software so there is a high standard of testing involved. The release candidate of v0.4 has completed testing. I will cut the release candidate tomorrow and then official build will be started.

v0.4 upgrade schedule has been fixed as following:

Release candidate for distribution - this week (expect 2~3 days)
2014-MAR-24 Testnet upgrade deadline and testnet protocol switch
2014-APR-05 Official v0.4 release for distribution
2014-MAY-05 v0.4 upgrade deadline and network protocol switch

v0.4 release includes UI usability features, protocol adjustment for possible future p2pool support and bug fixes. Upgrade is mandatory.

Update: Release candidate 1 is ready and uploaded for deployment on testnet. Official build includes linux and windows binaries. Please note release candidate is intended for testnet deployment, the main release is scheduled for around April 5 if testnet upgrade goes smoothly.

Release candidate 1 can be downloaded from:
https://sourceforge.net/projects/ppcoin/files/0.4.0rc1%20(for%20testnet%20deployment)/
Source code and tag updated on github to RC1:

Upgrade Instructions: Timely upgrade does not require blockchain redownload. Only need to uninstall previous client and install new client. Always remember to backup wallet before performing upgrade. Wallet backup should be done through UI menu or the backupwallet command. Directly copying wallet.dat file is not a 100% safe backup.

Update (March 24): Testnet protocol is switching today. Late upgrade would require redownloading testnet blockchain.

Update (April 6): Release build completed and under final validation. Expect announcement soon.

Update (April 6):
v0.4.0 released.

What’s included in v0.4.0:

• Debug window console support in Qt, easier to get to command line e.g. unlock wallet for minting (if you enter wallet passphrase in the console please remember to use the clear button to clear it).
• Protocol adjustment required for future p2pool support. Protocol switch scheduled for May 5th.
• Experimental getblocktemplate support
• getpeerinfo support
• Bug fixes
• Mandatory upgrade release, upgrade deadline May 4th.

Source code:

Official builds for linux and windows
https://sourceforge.net/projects/ppcoin/files/0.4.0/

Links to builds for OS X

Gitian signatures of release builds

[b]Upgrade instructions from v0.3.0:

• Backup wallet from qt menu or ‘backupwallet’ command. Please note directly copying wallet.dat file is not a 100% safe backup.
• Write down your wallet balance/newmint/stake.
• Shutdown and uninstall v0.3.0 client
• Download and install v0.4.0 client
• Start up v0.4.0 client, verify your wallet balance/newmint/stake
• Verify in the About dialog or getinfo output that your client version is v0.4.0ppc.[/b]

Please upgrade before May 4th 14:00 UTC (one day before protocol switch time on May 5th), otherwise blockchain redownload would be required for the client to work properly.

Update (May 5)

Okay, I know, so you’ve missed the upgrade deadline. Don’t panick yet
I cannot stress this enough, back up your wallet before panicking. And either use the UI menu or ‘backupwallet’ command to backup. Copying the wallet file is not a 100% safe backup.

If you missed the deadline, your upgraded client would display an error message saying blockchain redownload is required. So here is the instruction to redownload blockchain:

[b]Blockchain redownload involves:

1. Backup wallet.
2. Note down balance/stake amount.
3. Shutdown client.
4. Removing all files/subdirectories in the wallet directory except for wallet.dat and ppcoin.conf
5. Start up client
6. Once blockchain sync completes verify balance/stake amount matches the previous noted value. It’s possible the sum gets bigger if you generate stake during this period. [/b]

Cheers

(Mod edit: Links to OS X builds added to post because people weren’t seeing it and assuming that they didn’t exist - Ben)

Thanks for sharing this with us! We always appreciate when you share the steps you’re taking to build the future of Peercoin. Can’t wait to see the new version soon.

[quote=“Sunny King, post:1, topic:1778”]I know some of you are eagerly waiting for the new release. However remember both peercoin and primecoin are handled as mission critical software so there is a high standard of testing involved. The release candidate of v0.4 has completed testing. I will cut the release candidate tomorrow and then official build will be started.

v0.4 upgrade schedule has been fixed as following:

Release candidate for distribution - this week (expect 2~3 days)
2014-MAR-24 Testnet upgrade deadline and testnet protocol switch
2014-APR-05 Official v0.4 release for distribution
2014-MAY-05 v0.4 upgrade deadline and network protocol switch

v0.4 release includes UI usability features, protocol adjustment for possible future p2pool support and bug fixes. Upgrade is mandatory.

Thanks for your support and have fun :)[/quote]
Yey Will clear part of the weekend to run and test new client on testnet

Just to clarify as someone who is not familiar with this stuff:

So sometime this week the client will be released in a testing area, officially released on April 5th with the deadline to switch on May 5th?

[quote=“Yurizhai, post:4, topic:1778”]Just to clarify as someone who is not familiar with this stuff:

So sometime this week the client will be released in a testing area, officially released on April 5th with the deadline to switch on May 5th?[/quote]
For someone who is not familiar with this, you nailed it at first go. Not bad

great news!

Understand it still in a staging environment, maybe a step by step how to migrate to a new version with be useful too for those are not tech expert.

[quote=“C’Kay, post:6, topic:1778”]great news!

Understand it still in a staging environment, maybe a step by step how to migrate to a new version with be useful too for those are not tech expert. :)[/quote]
I’m sure it will be a busy time on the forum supporting people upgrading from 5 April on when it is ready for production. And we will have threads on how to upgrade step by step.

no cold locked minting added to 0.4?

Good news!

Will see, but unlikely. Hopefully we get something better secure and user friendly minting!

Is it possible to add official release binaries for the most used OS’es, like linux x86, linux x64, and linux for raspberry pi?

I was very close to getting these done on linux, so if Sunny does not I will see if I can resolve my last issues for the dependencies contained in the binaries. I believe Sunny will be releasing these … i think mac might be the only issue we may have though really if my memory serves me correct from last chats with Sunny over my builds I did.

Fuzzybear

With a sechedule now set, I’ll get the pieces in place that I need to attempt to compile the OS X builds. It will require setting up a Snow Leopard-running machine, unless I can figure out how to get Boost to work while compiling 64-bit. I’ve had a lot more experience building from source over the past few weeks while working on the Peershares project, so I’m hopeful that I’ll have a better chance of getting it to work than I did in the past.

@SunnyKing, can you confirm if there is going to be updates to the database (from Berkeley DB 4.8 to something else) or QT (to 5.x) in 0.4?

[quote=“FuzzyBear, post:12, topic:1778”]I was very close to getting these done on linux, so if Sunny does not I will see if I can resolve my last issues for the dependencies contained in the binaries. I believe Sunny will be releasing these … i think mac might be the only issue we may have though really if my memory serves me correct from last chats with Sunny over my builds I did.

Fuzzybear[/quote]

Nice! If official binaries for the raspberry pi will be released, i’ll include them in an updated peercoin-raspi image.

In the past we haven’t had “Raspberry Pi-specific” binaries, but I imagine that they should not be too hard to set up.

We can mirror any distributions on the wiki, as well as Fuzzybear’s “builds” sub page, to make it easy for people to get the files.

Looking forward to the new version. One of my greatest pleasures in life is new version of software and reading changelogs. I’m sure I’m not the only one.

I don’t think you are the only one. I think of new versions with stability/security/usability upgrades as great things for the community (ease of use is huge for newer members), and the changelogs are kind of like unwrapping the gift just to see what you get.

That’s how I feel, I guess. Christmas time! Lol, yeah I’m a big kid!

[quote=“Tea42, post:14, topic:1778”][quote=“FuzzyBear, post:12, topic:1778”]I was very close to getting these done on linux, so if Sunny does not I will see if I can resolve my last issues for the dependencies contained in the binaries. I believe Sunny will be releasing these … i think mac might be the only issue we may have though really if my memory serves me correct from last chats with Sunny over my builds I did.

Fuzzybear[/quote]

Nice! If official binaries for the raspberry pi will be released, i’ll include them in an updated peercoin-raspi image.[/quote]

I would love to have a simple, easy to install Raspberry Pi implementation of Official Peercoin version 0.4 !!!

We has been waiting and waiting for so long, hope this one will please us.

Thanks for the update sunny.

I whould also appreciate a official version for the Pi. I think running a Pi for PoS minting (and only for this) is very secure and energy efficient. This could reach break even relatively fast even for smaller holders and whould increase the network security.

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