TAAL Client
Overview
TAAL Client or simply CLIENT is a service that runs on the server of a TAAL customer and interacts with TAPI. You can use the TAAL Client to upload data onto the BSV Blockchain without the need to construct and fund raw transactions. A customer does not need to hold BSV.
After downloading and installing TAAL Client it can be used with a valid TAAL API key. You can then submit the data or data files. TAAL Client constructs a script stack to include the data (OP_Return) and funds the transaction (valid inputs) from the TAAL Client treasury. TAAL Client signs the transaction and TAAL broadcasts the signed transaction.
All the private keys used for signing a customer's transactions are held only on the customer's server.
The use of TAAL Client is subject to fees as per plans on TAAL Platform.
Installation
Binaries for Linux, Mac and Windows can be found at https://cdn.taal.com/taal-client.
Console
When starting TAAL Client from the command line a console application will be started on http://localhost:9500. It gives easy access to all the functions of TAAL Client.
Direct Usage
TAAL Client starts listening for HTTP requests on port 9500. This value along with other settings can be changed via the Settings page or in the settings.conf file directly. In case of the latter, TAAL Client has to be restarted for the changes to take effect.
All requests will be sent to https://api.taal.com by default unless changed in the settings.
Database
By default, TAAL Client creates a local database with the filename taal_client.db where API keys with public-private key pairs and transaction information are stored. Instead of connecting to a local DB it is possible to connect TAAL Client to a Postgres DB. In order to do that, the database mode has to be changed via Settings from local to remote. The same change can be done by the setting dbType from sqlite to postgres in the settings.conf file. The hostname, port, user, db name, and password have to be configured accordingly, again via settings.
Functions
Registration
For TAAL Client use, a valid Taal API key needs to be registered in order to bind it with a public key. For more details, see the Get an API key page.
Register at https://platform.taal.com
Obtain a TAAL Client plan which best suits your needs
Make sure that TAAL Client is running
Register the API key issued with the plan in TAAL Client by clicking "Add new" on the Key-manager page
This key is stored in the database with the public-private key pair. When creating transactions the key pair never leaves the machine.
The following image shows the Key-manager page.
The following image describes the registration of the API key on the TAAL Client.
Alternatively the registration of API keys can be doe by POSTing directly to the TAAL Client API.
Write data
Currently data can be submitted in 3 different modes
Raw: The full data is submitted to the blockchain as raw data.
Hash: A SHA256 hash is created of the input data. Only this hash is submitted. Transactions submitted in this mode are denoted by a hash (#️⃣) symbol.
Encrypt: Data is encrypted by the given secret using AES encryption. The secret is stored in the local database. When downloading the data, the stored secret is used for decryption. Transactions with encrypted data is denoted by a key (🔑) symbol.
After starting the TAAL Client by running taal-client on the command line, you can then write data to the blockchain. On the Send-data page multiple files can be drag-and-dropped to the File area. Upon clicking the button Submit transactions the data will be submitted in the chosen mode, each in a separate transaction.
Additionally the Send-data page offers a Developer mode which allows users to enter data as pure text. The call to the TAAL Client API will be displayed as a cURL command. In the Developer mode it is only possible to submit individual transactions.
Alternatively data can be written to the blockchain by POSTing directly to the TAAL Client API.
The header X-Key is only needed in mode encrypt
A file can be POSTed by using the --data-binary flag:
The following diagram shows the different steps that happen when writing data.
Transaction History
Information about transactions which have been made through TAAL Client are stored in a local database. This information includes ID, data size and timestamp. The history of all these transactions can be viewed on the History page of the console.
Alternatively data can be read by GETing from the TAAL Client API.
If the hours_back parameter is not set, then the whole transaction history will be returned.
Reading data
Alternatively data can be read by GETing from the TAAL Client API.
Before usage (MacOS / Linux version)
Before running the taal-client binary, make sure it is executable by running
MacOS
For the Mac version the code is not signed with a certificate issued by Apple currently. Therefore when running for the first time the following message will be shown.
In order to still run the application, please open Security & Privacy settings and click on Open Anyway as shown in the following picture.
After that when running the application the following message will be shown. This time it has an Open button. Press this button to run the application
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