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I'm creating a non-mainstream client that processes and validates Bitcoin transactions and need to track transactions in my database.

  • How is the TxID generated and when does it change?

Specifically, since sequence is intended to update a transaction, and if the transactions hash were to change I would assume the txid hash would change s well.

When I look at this image of a Tx, it appears that the txid is marked as TxIn (VI)

  • Is it possible or useful for a script to verify the TxID and signature hash?
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TxID is just a SHA256 hash of binary transation data, so it changes upon any modification of transaction. Therefore, one cannot include verification of TxID in the script in same transaction (if I correctly understood what you want to achieve).

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  • Maybe I'm confused... Where is the TxID?
    – makerofthings7
    Dec 20, 2012 at 23:08
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    The transaction id is used to refer to a transaction; it is not part of it.
    – Pieter Wuille
    Dec 20, 2012 at 23:20
  • @PieterWuille Is the TxID a simple Sha256 hash of the tx data in it's entirety? Does that mean the TxID changes if the sequence # changes? How should I track revisions (new sequences) of the same tx?
    – makerofthings7
    Dec 21, 2012 at 6:17
  • @makerofthings7 Yes, it is just hash of all data. If tx data changes then it is NOT the same tx.
    – aland
    Dec 21, 2012 at 8:13
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    It is a double-SHA256 of the serialized transaction. So indeed, the sequence number is part of. Changing the sequence number means you get a new transaction, but there is some (currently disabled) code in the reference client which can detect one transaction as a 'new version' of another, and replace it.
    – Pieter Wuille
    Dec 21, 2012 at 10:39

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