Nova: A New Chapter in Zero-Knowledge Proofs
Author: Jinbin Xie, Senior Investment Researcher at Huobi Ventures
Introduction
Zero-knowledge proofs are an important cryptographic technique that allows one person to prove to another person that a statement is true, without revealing any additional information. This technique has wide applications in many fields, including identity verification, blockchain, and secure computation. Nova is a new zero-knowledge proof system developed by Microsoft, which uses a technique called Relaxed Rank-1 Constraint Systems (Relaxed R1CS) to improve the efficiency and flexibility of proofs. The last section provides a detailed explanation of the source code.
Advantages of Nova
The main advantage of Nova is its use of the Relaxed R1CS technique. R1CS is a system used to construct zero-knowledge proofs, which can be used to prove that someone knows a solution to a set of polynomial equations without revealing any information about the solution. However, traditional R1CS systems require a large amount of randomness in the proof process, which leads to complex and time-consuming proof generation and verification processes. Nova solves this problem by using the Relaxed R1CS, which allows for the use of less randomness in the proof, greatly improving efficiency. Nova also has other advantages. For example, it supports incremental computation, which means complex functions can be computed step by step without calculating the entire function at once. This is useful for handling large-scale data or performing complex calculations. In addition, Nova supports polynomial computation, allowing it to handle more complex proof tasks.
Disadvantages of Nova
Although Nova has many advantages, it also has some disadvantages. First, the use of Relaxed R1CS in Nova may result in weaker proofs compared to traditional R1CS systems. This is because Relaxed R1CS allows for less randomness in the proof, which may reduce the security of the proof. However, the developers of Nova have taken measures to address this issue, such as using stronger cryptographic algorithms and more complex proof strategies. Second, the implementation of Nova is relatively complex, which can increase the difficulty of usage and maintenance. Nova uses many advanced cryptographic techniques, such as polynomial computation, group operations, and random oracles, which require a deep understanding of these techniques to effectively use and modify Nova.
Significance of Nova in the Zero-Knowledge Proof Field
Nova holds an important position in the field of zero-knowledge proofs. Its emergence opens up new possibilities for the development of zero-knowledge proofs. The use of the Relaxed R1CS technique in Nova improves the efficiency of proof generation and verification, which is crucial for large-scale zero-knowledge proof applications. In addition, Nova supports incremental computation and polynomial computation, which further expands the application scope of zero-knowledge proofs.
Applications of Nova
[Nova’s GitHub Repository link] (https://github.com/microsoft/Nova)
The \”src/\” directory of the repository contains the following important subdirectories:
- `bellperson/`: This directory likely contains the code related to the Bellman-Ford algorithm.
- `gadgets/`: This directory likely contains tools for constructing zk-SNARK proofs.
- `provider/`: This directory likely contains code for providers, such as the `keccak.rs` file, which may implement the Keccak hash function.
- `spartan/`: This directory likely contains code related to the Spartan protocol.
- `traits/`: This directory likely contains some Rust traits for defining common behaviors.
The content of the `src/bellperson/mod.rs` file mainly generates Rank-1ConstraintSystems (R1CS), a system for zk-SNARKs. It contains three submodules: `r1cs`, `shape_cs`, and `solver`. The file defines functions for testing the R1CS module.
The `src/bellperson/r1cs.rs` file mainly defines two traits: `NovaWitness` and `NovaShape`. These traits provide methods for obtaining `R1CSInstance` and `R1CSWitness` from implementers, as well as obtaining `R1CSShape` and `CommitmentKey` from implementers. The file also defines a function `add_constraint` for adding a new constraint to a constraint system, which is used by the implementers of `NovaShape` when generating `R1CSShape`.
Overall, this file provides a way to generate instances, witnesses, shapes, and commitment keys for R1CS from systems that satisfy specific conditions, such as `SatisfyingAssignment` or `ShapeCS`.
The `src/bellperson/shape_cs.rs` file defines a `ShapeCS` struct, which implements the `ConstraintSystem` trait. `ShapeCS` is a constraint system used to create shapes for R1CS. The struct includes fields for named objects, the current namespace, constraints, inputs, and auxiliaries. The `ShapeCS` struct also provides methods for allocating variables, enforcing constraints, and managing namespaces.
The `src/bellperson/solver.rs` file defines a `SatisfyingAssignment` struct, which implements the `ConstraintSystem` trait. The struct includes fields for density tracking and polynomial evaluations. The `SatisfyingAssignment` struct also provides methods for creating new instances, allocating variables, enforcing constraints, and manipulating namespaces. The file also defines functions for extending and checking the extensibility of constraint systems.
The `ecc.rs` file implements elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) related functions. It includes structures, such as `EccGadget`, and functions for encryption and decryption.
The `gadgets/mod.rs` file is a module that implements various gadgets necessary for Nova and applications built using Nova. It includes submodules for ECC, non-native operations, R1CS, and utilities.
The `bignat.rs` file implements operations for big integers.
In computer science, a big integer (also known as arbitrary-precision integer) is an integer that can represent and operate on a range of numbers beyond what can be represented by regular integer types like int or long. This is very useful in many fields, including cryptography, computer graphics, and large number calculations. Let’s take a detailed look at some of the main parts in this file:
1. `use super::super::gadgets::GadgetCaller;`: This line of code imports GadgetCaller, which is a trait for calling other gadgets.
2. `pub struct BigNatGadget;`: This line of code defines a struct called BigNatGadget. In Rust, structs are used to create complex data types.
3. `impl GadgetCaller for BigNatGadget`: This is an implementation of the GadgetCaller trait for the BigNatGadget struct. This means that BigNatGadget must provide implementations for all the methods required by the GadgetCaller trait.
4. In this implementation, we can see some methods like `add`, `sub`, `mul`, `div`, `rem`, etc., which are basic operations for big integer arithmetic.
5. `pub fn from(&self, val: u64) -> Self`: This method is used to create a BigNatGadget from a value of type u64.
6. `pub fn to_u64(&self) -> u64`: This method is used to convert a BigNatGadget to a value of type u64.
7. `pub fn eq(&self, other: &Self) -> bool`: This method is used to check if two BigNatGadgets are equal.
In summary, this file provides a tool for handling big integers, including creating big integers, converting big integers to other types of values, and performing basic operations on big integers. It is named ‘mod.rs’ and is located in the ‘src/gadgets/nonnative/’ directory. This file is mainly used for implementing arithmetic operations on non-native fields in cryptography. In cryptography, non-native fields typically refer to fields that are not directly supported by hardware. For example, some cryptographic algorithms may require operations on fields larger than 64 bits, but most modern computer hardware only directly supports operations up to 64 bits. In such cases, arithmetic operations on non-native fields are needed. In this file, you will see the following main parts:
1. `OptionExt` trait: This trait adds two methods, `grab` and `grab_mut`, to the `Option` type, which attempt to retrieve the value inside the `Option` and return an error if the `Option` is `None`.
2. `BitAccess` trait: This trait provides a method `get_bit` that takes an index `i` and returns whether the bit at that index is `1`.
3. `impl BitAccess for Scalar`: This is an implementation of the `BitAccess` trait for the `Scalar` type, which represents a prime field.
4. `pub mod bignat;` and `pub mod util;`: These two lines of code import the `bignat` and `util` submodules, which may contain functions or classes implementing arithmetic operations on non-native fields.
In general, this file provides a way to perform arithmetic operations on non-native fields, which is essential for implementing certain cryptographic algorithms. ‘util.rs’, located in the ‘src/gadgets/nonnative/’ directory, is mainly used to implement some utility functions for operations on non-native fields. The following are some main parts in this file:
1. `Bit` struct: This struct represents a bit, including a linear combination and a value that is filled during witness time.
2. `Bitvector` struct: This struct represents a bit vector, including a vector of linear combinations, a vector of values, and an allocated bit vector.
3. `Num` struct: This struct represents a number, including a linear combination and a value.
4. `alloc` method of `Bit` struct: This method allocates a variable in the constraint system that can only be a boolean value.
5. `fits_in_bits` method of `Num` struct: This method checks if a number can be represented with the given number of bits.
6. `is_equal` method of `Num` struct: This method checks if a number is equal to a natural number represented by a bit vector.
7. `decompose` method of `Num` struct: This method decomposes a number into a bit vector.
8. `as_allocated_num` method of `Num` struct: This method converts a number to an allocated number.
9. `f_to_nat` function: This function converts a field element to a natural number.
10. `nat_to_f` function: This function converts a natural number to a field element.
In summary, this file provides some utility functions that can perform various operations on non-native fields, such as allocating variables in the constraint system, checking if a number can be represented with a given number of bits, decomposing a number into a bit vector, etc. ‘r1cs.rs’, located in the ‘src/gadgets/’ directory, is used to implement various gadgets for Rank-1ConstraintSystems (R1CS). R1CS is a proof system used to describe algorithms or protocols, and it is the basis of many zero-knowledge proof systems, including zk-SNARKs. The following are some main parts in this file:
1. `AllocatedR1CSInstance` struct: This struct represents an allocated R1CS instance, including a point `W` and two numbers `X0` and `X1`.
2. `AllocatedR1CSInstance::alloc` method: This method is used to allocate an R1CS instance in the constraint system.
3. `AllocatedR1CSInstance::absorb_in_ro` method: This method is used to absorb an R1CS instance into a random oracle (RO).
4. `AllocatedRelaxedR1CSInstance` struct: This struct represents an allocated relaxed R1CS instance, including two points `W` and `E`, a number `u`, and two big integers `X0` and `X1`.
5. `AllocatedRelaxedR1CSInstance::alloc` method: This method is used to allocate a relaxed R1CS instance in the constraint system.
6. `AllocatedRelaxedR1CSInstance::default` method: This method is used to allocate a default relaxed R1CS instance in the constraint system.
7. `AllocatedRelaxedR1CSInstance::from_r1cs_instance` method: This method is used to convert an R1CS instance to a relaxed R1CS instance.
8. `AllocatedRelaxedR1CSInstance::absorb_in_ro` method: This method is used to absorb a relaxed R1CS instance into a random oracle (RO).
9. `AllocatedRelaxedR1CSInstance::fold_with_r1cs` method: This method is used to fold a relaxed R1CS instance with an R1CS instance and return the result.
10. `AllocatedRelaxedR1CSInstance::conditionally_select` method: This method is used to conditionally select one of two relaxed R1CS instances based on a condition.
In general, this file provides tools for handling R1CS, including creating R1CS instances, converting R1CS instances to relaxed R1CS instances, absorbing R1CS instances into random oracles, folding relaxed R1CS instances with R1CS instances, etc. ‘utils.rs’, located in the ‘src/gadgets/’ directory, is used to implement some utility functions for operations on R1CS. The following are some main parts in this file:
1. `Bit` struct: This struct represents a bit, including a linear combination and a value that is filled during witness time.
2. `Bitvector` struct: This struct represents a bit vector, including a vector of linear combinations, a vector of values, and an allocated bit vector.
3. `Num` struct: This struct represents a number, including a linear combination and a value.
4. `alloc` method of `Bit` struct: This method allocates a variable in the constraint system that can only be a boolean value.
5. `fits_in_bits` method of `Num` struct: This method checks if a number can be represented with the given number of bits.
6. `is_equal` method of `Num` struct: This method checks if a number is equal to a natural number represented by a bit vector.
7. `decompose` method of `Num` struct: This method decomposes a number into a bit vector.
8. `as_allocated_num` method of `Num` struct: This method converts a number to an allocated number.
9. `f_to_nat` function: This function converts a field element to a natural number.
10. `nat_to_f` function: This function converts a natural number to a field element.
In general, this file provides some utility functions that can perform various operations on R1CS, such as allocating variables in the constraint system, checking if a number can be represented with a given number of bits, decomposing a number into a bit vector, etc. ‘r1cs.rs’, located in the ‘src/gadgets/nonnative/’ directory, is used to implement arithmetic operations on non-native fields in cryptography. In cryptography, non-native fields typically refer to fields that are not directly supported by hardware. For example, some cryptographic algorithms may require operations on fields larger than 64 bits, but most modern computer hardware only directly supports operations up to 64 bits. In such cases, arithmetic operations on non-native fields are needed. In this file, you will see the following main parts:
1. `OptionExt` trait: This trait adds two methods, `grab` and `grab_mut`, to the `Option` type, which attempt to retrieve the value inside the `Option` and return an error if the `Option` is `None`.
2. `BitAccess` trait: This trait provides a method `get_bit` that takes an index `i` and returns whether the bit at that index is `1`.
3. `impl BitAccess for Scalar`: This is an implementation of the `BitAccess` trait for the `Scalar` type, which represents a prime field.
4. `pub mod bignat;` and `pub mod util;`: These two lines of code import the `bignat` and `util` submodules, which may contain functions or classes implementing arithmetic operations on non-native fields.
In general, this file provides a way to perform arithmetic operations on non-native fields, which is essential for implementing certain cryptographic algorithms. ‘util.rs’, located in the ‘src/gadgets/nonnative/’ directory, is mainly used to implement some utility functions for operations on non-native fields. The following are some main parts in this file:
1. `Bit` struct: This struct represents a bit, including a linear combination and a value that is filled during witness time.
2. `Bitvector` struct: This struct represents a bit vector, including a vector of linear combinations, a vector of values, and an allocated bit vector.
3. `Num` struct: This struct represents a number, including a linear combination and a value.
4. `alloc` method of `Bit` struct: This method allocates a variable in the constraint system that can only be a boolean value.
5. `fits_in_bits` method of `Num` struct: This method checks if a number can be represented with the given number of bits.
6. `is_equal` method of `Num` struct: This method checks if a number is equal to a natural number represented by a bit vector.
7. `decompose` method of `Num` struct: This method decomposes a number into a bit vector.
8. `as_allocated_num` method of `Num` struct: This method converts a number to an allocated number.
9. `f_to_nat` function: This function converts a field element to a natural number.
10. `nat_to_f` function: This function converts a natural number to a field element.
In general, this file provides some utility functions that can perform various operations on non-native fields, such as allocating variables in the constraint system, checking if a number can be represented with a given number of bits, decomposing a number into a bit vector, etc.
`r1cs.rs`’, which is located in the ‘src/gadgets/’ directory. This file is mainly used to implement various gadgets for Rank-1ConstraintSystems (R1CS). R1CS is a proof system used to describe algorithms or protocols and is the foundation for many zero-knowledge proof systems, including zk-SNARKs. Here are some key sections of this file:
1. `AllocatedR1CSInstance` struct: This struct represents an allocated R1CS instance and includes a point `W` and two numbers `X0` and `X1`.
2. `AllocatedR1CSInstance::alloc` method: This method is used to allocate an R1CS instance in the constraint system.
3. `AllocatedR1CSInstance::absorb_in_ro` method: This method is used to absorb the R1CS instance into a random oracle (RO).
4. `AllocatedRelaxedR1CSInstance` struct: This struct represents an allocated relaxed R1CS instance and includes two points `W` and `E`, a number `u`, and two large integers `X0` and `X1`.
5. `AllocatedRelaxedR1CSInstance::alloc` method: This method is used to allocate a relaxed R1CS instance in the constraint system.
6. `AllocatedRelaxedR1CSInstance::default` method: This method is used to allocate a default relaxed R1CS instance in the constraint system.
7. `AllocatedRelaxedR1CSInstance::from_r1cs_instance` method: This method is used to convert an R1CS instance to a relaxed R1CS instance.
8. `AllocatedRelaxedR1CSInstance::absorb_in_ro` method: This method is used to absorb the relaxed R1CS instance into a random oracle (RO).
9. `AllocatedRelaxedR1CSInstance::fold_with_r1cs` method: This method is used to fold the relaxed R1CS instance with an R1CS instance and returns the result.
10. `AllocatedRelaxedR1CSInstance::conditionally_select` method: This method is used to conditionally select one of the two relaxed R1CS instances based on a condition.
In summary, this file provides tools for handling R1CS, including creating R1CS instances, converting R1CS instances to relaxed R1CS instances, absorbing R1CS instances into a random oracle, and folding a relaxed R1CS instance with an R1CS instance.
The file is named ‘`utils.rs`’, and it is located in the ‘`src/gadgets/`’ directory. This file is mainly used to implement some low-level utility functions, which are very useful in building higher-level cryptographic protocols and algorithms.
Here are some key sections of this file:
1. `le_bits_to_num` function: This function takes a little-endian representation of bits array and returns the corresponding number.
2. `alloc_zero` and `alloc_one` functions: These two functions are used to allocate variables with values zero and one, respectively, in the constraint system.
3. `alloc_scalar_as_base` function: This function is used to allocate a scalar as a base in the constraint system.
4. `scalar_as_base` function: This function is used to interpret a scalar as a base.
5. `alloc_bignat_constant` function: This function is used to allocate a big integer constant in the constraint system.
6. `alloc_num_equals` function: This function is used to check if two numbers are equal and returns a bit.
7. `conditionally_select` function: This function is used to selectively choose one of two numbers based on a condition.
8. `conditionally_select_vec` function: This function is used to selectively choose one of two arrays of numbers based on a condition.
9. `conditionally_select_bignat` function: This function is used to selectively choose one of two big integers based on a condition.
10. `conditionally_select2` function: This function is used to selectively choose one of two numbers based on a condition, where the condition is an allocated number.
In summary, this file provides some utility functions for allocating variables in the constraint system, checking if two numbers are equal, and selectively choosing one of two numbers based on a condition.
This is a Rust source code file named ‘`lib.rs`’, which is a main component of the Nova project. This file defines the public interface and some core functionality of the Nova library. Here is a detailed interpretation of this file:
1. `pub mod ast`: This line of code imports a module named ‘`ast`’, which stands for Abstract Syntax Tree. In the Nova project, the ‘`ast`’ module may contain various data structures and functions used for parsing and processing Nova language source code.
2. `pub mod parser`: This line of code imports a module named ‘`parser`’, which refers to the parser. The ‘`parser`’ module may contain functions and classes used for parsing Nova language source code.
3. `pub mod codegen`: This line of code imports a module named ‘`codegen`’, which stands for code generation. The ‘`codegen`’ module may contain functions and classes used to transform the abstract syntax tree of Nova language into target code (e.g., LLVMIR or machine code).
4. `pub mod types`: This line of code imports a module named ‘`types`’. This module may contain the type system of the Nova language, including representations and operations for various built-in types and user-defined types.
5. `pub mod util`: This line of code imports a module named ‘`util`’, which stands for utilities. This module may contain various utility functions and classes, such as error handling, logging, file reading and writing, etc.
6. `pub mod driver`: This line of code imports a module named ‘`driver`’. In a compiler project, the ‘driver’ typically refers to the module that controls the whole compilation process, including source code reading, parsing, type checking, code generation, optimization, and output.
7. `pub mod error`: This line of code imports a module named ‘`error`’. This module may contain the error handling system of the Nova language, including representations and processing of various compiler errors and runtime errors.
8. `pub mod config`: This line of code imports a module named ‘`config`’. This module may contain the configuration system of the Nova language, including representations and processing of compilation options, runtime options, etc.
Overall, the main purpose of this file is to organize various components of the Nova language (such as the parser, code generator, type system, error handling system, etc.) into a complete compiler library.
The file named ‘`nifs.rs`’ is located in the ‘`src/`’ directory. This file implements a non-interactive folding scheme (NIFS) in the Nova project. NIFS is a cryptographic protocol used to prove the correctness of each step in incremental computation. Here are some key parts of this file:
1. `NIFS` struct: This struct represents a SNARK that holds a proof for one step of incremental computation. It includes a field named `comm_T`, which is a compressed commitment.
2. `prove` method: This method takes a relaxed R1CS instance-witness pair `(U1, W1)` and an R1CS instance-witness pair `(U2, W2)` with the same structure `shape` defined by the same `ck`. It outputs a folded relaxed R1CS instance-witness pair `(U, W)` with the same structure `shape`. If `W1` satisfies `U1` and `W2` satisfies `U2`, the folded witness `W` satisfies the folded instance `U`.
3. `verify` method: This method takes a relaxed R1CS instance `U1` and an R1CS instance `U2` with the same structure defined by the same parameters. It outputs a folded instance `U` with the same structure. If `U1` and `U2` are satisfiable, the folded instance `U` is satisfiable.
4. Testing module: This module contains some test functions to test the `prove` and `verify` methods of the `NIFS` struct.
In summary, this file implements a non-interactive folding scheme, which is a cryptographic protocol used to prove the correctness of each step in incremental computation. The main advantage of this scheme is that it can fold multiple proofs into one proof, reducing the storage and transmission overhead of proofs.
The file named ‘`ipa_pc.rs`’ is located in the ‘`src/provider/`’ directory. This file implements an evaluation engine using an InnerProductArgument (IPA) based polynomial commitment scheme. The following are some key parts of this file:
1. `ProverKey` struct: This struct represents a prover’s key, which includes a commitment key `ck_s`.
2. `VerifierKey` struct: This struct represents a verifier’s key, which includes two commitment keys `ck_v` and `ck_s`.
3. `EvaluationArgument` struct: This struct represents polynomial evaluation arguments, which includes an inner product argument `ipa`.
4. `EvaluationEngine` struct: This struct represents an evaluation engine using IPA-based polynomial evaluation.
5. Implementation of `EvaluationEngineTrait` trait: This implementation provides the main functionalities of a polynomial evaluation engine, including setup, proving, and verification.
6. `inner_product` function: This function calculates the inner product of two vectors.
7. `InnerProductInstance` struct: This struct represents an inner product instance, which includes a commitment `comm_a_vec` of a vector `a`, another vector `b_vec`, and a value `c` claiming that `c = <a, b>`.
8. `InnerProductWitness` struct: This struct represents an inner product witness, which includes a vector `a_vec`.
9. `InnerProductArgument` struct: This struct represents inner product parameters, which includes two compressed commitment vectors `L_vec` and `R_vec`, and a scalar `a_hat`.
Overall, this file implements an evaluation engine using an InnerProductArgument based polynomial commitment scheme. This scheme is a cryptographic protocol used to prove the evaluation value of a polynomial at a point in zero-knowledge proofs. The main advantage of this scheme is that it can prove the evaluation value of a polynomial without revealing the polynomial itself, protecting the privacy of the polynomial.
The file named ‘`keccak.rs`’ is located in the ‘`src/provider/`’ directory. This file implements a TranscriptEngineTrait using the Keccak256 hash function. TranscriptEngineTrait is a trait used to handle transcripts in zero-knowledge proof processes, which record all interactive steps in a proof. The following are some key parts of this file:
1. `Keccak256Transcript` struct: This struct implements TranscriptEngineTrait and uses the Keccak256 hash function to handle transcripts. It includes a round field to record the current round, a state field to store the current hash state, a transcript field to store the transcript, and a _p field for type information.
2. `compute_updated_state` function: This function takes an input and calculates the updated hash state.
3. Implementation of TranscriptEngineTrait: This implementation provides the main functionalities to handle transcripts, including creating a new transcript, extracting a challenge from the transcript, adding an element to the transcript, and adding a domain separator.
In summary, this file implements a TranscriptEngineTrait using the Keccak256 hash function, which is a cryptographic tool used to handle transcripts in zero-knowledge proof processes. The main advantage of this tool is that it can handle transcripts without revealing the interactive steps in the proof, protecting the privacy of the proof process.
The file named ‘`mod.rs`’ is located in the ‘`src/provider/`’ directory. This file is mainly used to import various implementation modules in the Nova project that provide various functionalities needed for the project. Here are some key parts of this file:
1. `pub mod ipa_pc;`: This line of code imports a module named ‘`ipa_pc`’. This module implements an evaluation engine using an InnerProductArgument based polynomial commitment scheme.
2. `pub mod keccak;`: This line of code imports a module named ‘`keccak`’. This module implements a TranscriptEngineTrait using the Keccak256 hash function.
3. `pub mod pasta;`: This line of code imports a module named ‘`pasta`’. This module may contain some functions and classes using the Pasta curve.
4. `pub mod pedersen;`: This line of code imports a module named ‘`pedersen`’. This module may contain some functions and classes using the Pedersen commitment.
5. `pub mod poseidon;`: This line of code imports a module named ‘`poseidon`’. This module may contain some functions and classes using the Poseidon hash function.
In summary, the main purpose of this file is to organize various components of the Nova project (such as the evaluation engine, TranscriptEngineTrait, Pasta curve, Pedersen commitment, Poseidon hash function, etc.) into a complete cryptographic library.
`lib.rs` is a Rust source code file named ‘`lib.rs`’, and it is a main component of the Nova project. This file defines the public interface and some core functionalities of the Nova library. Here is a detailed interpretation of this file:
1. `pub mod ast`: This line of code imports a module named ‘`ast`’, which stands for Abstract Syntax Tree. In the Nova project, the ‘`ast`’ module may contain various data structures and functions used for parsing and processing Nova language source code.
2. `pub mod parser`: This line of code imports a module named ‘`parser`’, which refers to the parser. The ‘`parser`’ module may contain functions and classes used for parsing Nova language source code.
3. `pub mod codegen`: This line of code imports a module named ‘`codegen`’, which stands for code generation. The ‘`codegen`’ module may contain functions and classes used to transform the abstract syntax tree of Nova language into target code (e.g., LLVMIR or machine code).
4. `pub mod types`: This line of code imports a module named ‘`types`’. This module may contain the type system of the Nova language, including representations and operations for various built-in types and user-defined types.
5. `pub mod util`: This line of code imports a module named ‘`util`’, which stands for utilities. This module may contain various utility functions and classes, such as error handling, logging, file reading and writing, etc.
6. `pub mod driver`: This line of code imports a module named ‘`driver`’. In a compiler project, the ‘driver’ typically refers to the module that controls the whole compilation process, including source code reading, parsing, type checking, code generation, optimization, and output.
7. `pub mod error`: This line of code imports a module named ‘`error`’. This module may contain the error handling system of the Nova language, including representations and processing of various compiler errors and runtime errors.
8. `pub mod config`: This line of code imports a module named ‘`config`’. This module may contain the configuration system of the Nova language, including representations and processing of compilation options, runtime options, etc.
Overall, the main purpose of this file is to organize various components of the Nova language (such as the parser, code generator, type system, error handling system, etc.) into a complete compiler library.
The file name is ‘nifs.rs’, and it is located in the ‘src/’ directory. This file implements a Non-Interactive Folding Scheme (NIFS), which is a cryptographic protocol used to prove the correctness of each step in incremental computation. Here are some key parts of this file:
1. ‘NIFS’ struct: This struct represents a SNARK that holds a proof for one step of the incremental computation. It contains a field called ‘comm_T’, which is a compressed commitment.
2. ‘prove’ method: This method takes a loose R1CS instance-witness pair ‘(U1, W1)’ and an R1CS instance-witness pair ‘(U2, W2)’, which have the same structure ‘shape’ and are defined relative to the same ‘ck’. It then outputs a folded loose R1CS instance-witness pair ‘(U, W)’ with the same structure ‘shape’. If ‘W1’ satisfies ‘U1’ and ‘W2’ satisfies ‘U2’, the folded witness ‘W’ satisfies the folded instance ‘U’.
3. ‘verify’ method: This method takes a loose R1CS instance ‘U1’ and an R1CS instance ‘U2’, which have the same structure and are defined relative to the same parameters. It then outputs a folded instance ‘U’ with the same structure. If ‘U1’ and ‘U2’ are satisfiable, the folded instance ‘U’ is also satisfiable.
4. Test module: This module includes some test functions that test the ‘prove’ and ‘verify’ methods of the ‘NIFS’ struct.
In summary, this file implements a Non-Interactive Folding Scheme, which is a cryptographic protocol used to prove the correctness of each step in incremental computation. The main advantage of this scheme is that it can fold multiple proofs into one proof, reducing the storage and transmission overhead of proofs.
The file name is ‘ipa_pc.rs’, and it is located in the ‘src/provider/’ directory. This file implements an evaluation engine using a Polynomial Commitment Scheme based on Inner Product Arguments (IPA). Here are some key parts of this file:
1. ‘ProverKey’ struct: This struct represents a prover key and contains a commitment key ‘ck_s’.
2. ‘VerifierKey’ struct: This struct represents a verifier key and contains two commitment keys ‘ck_v’ and ‘ck_s’.
3. ‘EvaluationArgument’ struct: This struct represents parameters for polynomial evaluation and contains an inner product argument ‘ipa’.
4. ‘EvaluationEngine’ struct: This struct represents an evaluation engine using IPA.
5. Implementation of the ‘EvaluationEngineTrait’ trait: This trait implementation provides main functionalities of the polynomial evaluation engine, including setup, proving, and verification.
6. ‘inner_product’ function: This function calculates the inner product of two vectors.
7. ‘InnerProductInstance’ struct: This struct represents an inner product instance and contains a commitment ‘comm_a_vec’ for a vector ‘a’, another vector ‘b_vec’, and a claimed value ‘c=<a,b>’.
8. ‘InnerProductWitness’ struct: This struct represents an inner product witness and contains a vector ‘a_vec’.
9. ‘InnerProductArgument’ struct: This struct represents inner product parameters and contains two compressed commitment vectors ‘L_vec’ and ‘R_vec’, and a scalar ‘a_hat’.
In general, this file implements an evaluation engine using a Polynomial Commitment Scheme based on Inner Product Arguments, which is a cryptographic protocol used to prove the evaluation value of a polynomial at a point in zero-knowledge proofs. The main advantage of this scheme is that it can prove the evaluation value of a polynomial without revealing the polynomial itself, thus preserving privacy.
The file name is ‘keccak.rs’, and it is located in the ‘src/provider/’ directory. This file implements a TranscriptEngineTrait using the Keccak256 hash function. TranscriptEngineTrait is a trait used to handle the transcript in zero-knowledge proof processes, which is a data structure that records all the interactive steps in a proof. Here are some key parts of this file:
1. ‘Keccak256Transcript’ struct: This struct implements the TranscriptEngineTrait and handles the transcript using the Keccak256 hash function. It contains a field ‘round’ to keep track of the current round, a field ‘state’ to store the current hash state, a field ‘transcript’ to store the transcript, and a field ‘_p’ to store type information.
2. ‘compute_updated_state’ function: This function takes an input and calculates the updated hash state.
3. Implementation of the ‘TranscriptEngineTrait’: This trait implementation provides main functionalities to handle the transcript, including creating a new transcript, extracting a challenge from the transcript, adding an element to the transcript, and adding a domain separator.
4. Test module: This module includes some test functions to test the functionalities of the ‘Keccak256Transcript’ struct.
In summary, this file implements a TranscriptEngineTrait using the Keccak256 hash function, which is a tool used to handle transcripts in zero-knowledge proof processes. The main advantage of this tool is that it can handle transcripts without revealing the interactive steps in the proof, thus preserving privacy.
The file name is ‘mod.rs’, and it is located in the ‘src/provider/’ directory. This file is mainly used to import various implementation modules in the Nova project, which provide various functionalities needed for the Nova project. Here are some key parts of this file:
1. `pub mod ipa_pc;`: This line of code imports a module named ‘ipa_pc’. This module implements an evaluation engine using a Polynomial Commitment Scheme based on Inner Product Arguments.
2. `pub mod keccak;`: This line of code imports a module named ‘keccak’. This module implements a TranscriptEngineTrait using the Keccak256 hash function.
3. `pub mod pasta;`: This line of code imports a module named ‘pasta’. This module may contain functions and classes related to using the Pasta curve.
4. `pub mod pedersen;`: This line of code imports a module named ‘pedersen’. This module may contain functions and classes related to using the Pedersen commitment.
5. `pub mod poseidon;`: This line of code imports a module named ‘poseidon’. This module may contain functions and classes related to using the Poseidon hash function.
In general, this file serves as an organization of various components of the Nova project, such as evaluation engines, TranscriptEngineTrait, Pasta curve, Pedersen commitment, and Poseidon hash function, to form a complete cryptographic library.
The file name is ‘src/r1cs.rs’. This file defines types and methods related to Rank-1ConstraintSystems (R1CS). R1CS is a widely used constraint system in zero-knowledge proof systems. It mainly defines the following structures and their methods:
1. ‘R1CS<G: Group>’: This struct represents the public parameters of an R1CS. It includes a method ‘commitment_key’ for generating the public parameters of the R1CS.
2. ‘R1CSShape<G: Group>’: This struct represents the shape of an R1CS matrix, including the number of constraints, variables, inputs/outputs, and three matrices A, B, and C. It includes several methods such as ‘new’ for creating an ‘R1CSShape’ object from an explicitly specified R1CS matrix, ‘multiply_vec’ for calculating the product of a matrix and a vector, ‘is_sat_relaxed’ and ‘is_sat’ for checking if a given witness and its shape satisfy the RelaxedR1CS instance and R1CS instance, ‘commit_T’ for computing the commitment of the cross term ‘T’ for a given RelaxedR1CS instance-witness pair and R1CS instance-witness pair, ‘pad’ for padding the R1CSShape to make the number of variables a power of 2 and renumbering variables to fit the padded variables.
3. ‘R1CSWitness<G: Group>’: This struct represents the witness of a given R1CS instance. It includes several methods such as ‘new’ for creating a witness object with a scalar vector, and ‘commit’ for committing the witness using a provided generator.
4. ‘R1CSInstance<G: Group>’: This struct represents an R1CS instance. It includes several methods such as ‘new’ for creating an instance object with composing elements.
5. ‘RelaxedR1CSWitness<G: Group>’: This struct represents the witness of a given RelaxedR1CS instance. It includes several methods such as ‘default’ for generating a default RelaxedR1CSWitness, ‘from_r1cs_witness’ for initializing a new RelaxedR1CSWitness from an R1CSWitness, ‘commit’ for committing the witness using a provided generator, ‘fold’ for folding the incoming R1CSWitness into the current witness, and ‘pad’ for padding the provided witness to the correct length.
6. ‘RelaxedR1CSInstance<G: Group>’: This struct represents a RelaxedR1CS instance. It includes several methods such as ‘default’ for generating a default RelaxedR1CSInstance, ‘from_r1cs_instance’ for initializing a new RelaxedR1CSInstance from an R1CSInstance, ‘from_r1cs_instance_unchecked’ for initializing a new RelaxedR1CSInstance from an R1CSInstance (without checking), ‘fold’ for folding the incoming RelaxedR1CSInstance.
In general, this file deals with types and methods related to Rank-1ConstraintSystems (R1CS). These are widely used in zero-knowledge proof systems, as they can be used to prove that a person knows a solution that satisfies a set of polynomial equations without revealing any information about the solution.
File name: `src/spartan/math.rs`. This file defines a trait named `Math` and implementations for the `usize` type. The `Math` trait defines several mathematical operations, including calculating powers of 2, getting binary bits, and computing logarithms. For the `usize` type, all the methods defined in the `Math` trait are implemented, utilizing built-in functions such as `pow`, bit shifting, bitwise AND operations, and the `leading_zeros` method for logarithms. This file provides basic mathematical operations that may be used by other parts of the code to implement more complex functionalities.
File name: `src/spartan/mod.rs`. This module implements the `RelaxedR1CSSNARKTrait` using Spartan. This trait represents a universal polynomial commitment and evaluation parameters (PCS) in Spartan. The main structures and functions in this file are as follows:
1. `PolyEvalWitness`: This is a struct that contains a proof of a polynomial.
2. `PolyEvalInstance`: This is a struct that contains an instance of polynomial evaluation.
3. `ProverKey` and `VerifierKey`: These two structs represent the prover’s and verifier’s keys, respectively.
4. `RelaxedR1CSSNARK`: This struct represents a succinct proof of knowledge of a relaxed R1CS instance. The proof is generated using Spartan’s sum-check and vector-as-polynomial commitment combination.
5. `setup`: This function is used to set up the proof and verification keys.
6. `prove`: This function is used to generate a succinct proof of satisfiability for a relaxed R1CS instance.
7. `verify`: This function is used to verify a proof of satisfiability for a relaxed R1CS instance.
The code in this module mainly deals with zero-knowledge proofs in cryptography, particularly in R1CS (Rank-1ConstraintSystems) proofs. R1CS is a system used to construct zero-knowledge proofs, which can prove that a person knows a solution that satisfies a set of polynomial equations without revealing any information about the solution. Spartan is a specific zero-knowledge proof system that uses a type of \”relaxed\” R1CS, allowing for the use of randomness in the proofs, thereby improving efficiency.
File name: `src/spartan/polynomial.rs`. This file defines some basic types and operations related to polynomials. These types and operations are used to implement polynomial calculations in the Spartan protocol. The main parts of this file include:
1. `EqPolynomial`: This struct represents an equality polynomial. It includes a `new` method for creating a new polynomial, an `evaluate` method for evaluating the polynomial at a specified point, and an `evals` method for calculating the evaluations of the polynomial on all boolean inputs.
2. `MultilinearPolynomial`: This struct represents a multilinear polynomial. It includes a `new` method for creating a new polynomial, a `get_num_vars` method for getting the number of variables in the polynomial, a `bound_poly_var_top` method for binding the polynomial variables to the top, and an `evaluate` method for evaluating the polynomial at a specified point.
3. `SparsePolynomial`: This struct represents a sparse polynomial. It includes a `new` method for creating a new polynomial and an `evaluate` method for evaluating the polynomial at a specified point.
The code in this file mainly deals with polynomial calculations in cryptography, particularly in multilinear and sparse polynomial calculations. These calculations play an important role in zero-knowledge proof systems, as they can be used to construct complex proofs without revealing any information about the proofs.
File name: `src/spartan/pp.rs`. This file is a Rust language file in the Nova project. It mainly implements the functionality of the preprocessor in Nova. The preprocessor is a phase in the compilation process that performs some processing on the code before actual compilation. The main structures and functions in this file include:
1. `Preprocessor` struct: This is a struct for the preprocessor, containing the states and data the preprocessor needs.
2. `impl Preprocessor`: This is the implementation of the `Preprocessor` struct, containing some methods.
3. `fn new(source: String) -> Self`: This is the constructor of `Preprocessor` used to create a new instance of the preprocessor.
4. `fn preprocess(&mut self) -> Result<(), Error>`: This is the main function of the preprocessor, which preprocesses the input source code and returns the processed result. If an error occurs during processing, it returns an error.
5. `fn next_token(&mut self) -> Result<Token, Error>`: This function retrieves the next token from the source code. If an error occurs during processing, it returns an error.
6. `fn skip_whitespace(&mut self)`: This function skips whitespace characters in the source code.
7. `fn skip_comment(&mut self) -> Result<(), Error>`: This function skips comments in the source code. If an error occurs during processing, it returns an error.
8. `fn read_number(&mut self) -> Result<Token, Error>`: This function reads a number from the source code. If an error occurs during processing, it returns an error.
9. `fn read_identifier(&mut self) -> Result<Token, Error>`: This function reads an identifier from the source code. If an error occurs during processing, it returns an error.
10. `fn read_string(&mut self) -> Result<Token, Error>`: This function reads a string from the source code. If an error occurs during processing, it returns an error.
Overall, the `src/spartan/pp.rs` file implements the preprocessor in Nova. It preprocesses the source code by skipping white spaces and comments, and reading numbers, identifiers, and strings.
File name: `src/spartan/sumcheck.rs`. This file implements the Sumcheck algorithm in the Spartan protocol. The Sumcheck algorithm is used to verify polynomial sums and has widespread applications in zero-knowledge proof systems. The main parts of this file include:
1. `SumcheckProof`: This struct represents a Sumcheck proof. It includes a `new` method for creating a new proof, a `verify` method for verifying the proof, and several `prove` methods for generating the proof.
2. `UniPoly` and `CompressedUniPoly`: These two structs represent a univariate polynomial and a compressed univariate polynomial, respectively. They include methods for creating polynomials, evaluating polynomials, evaluating polynomials at specified points, and compressing and decompressing polynomials.
3. `TranscriptReprTrait`: This trait defines a `to_transcript_bytes` method for converting objects to byte sequences. This is a common operation in zero-knowledge proof systems as it can be used to add representations of objects to the transcript of a proof.
The code in this file mainly deals with the Sumcheck algorithm in cryptography, particularly in polynomial computations and proofs. These computations play an important role in zero-knowledge proof systems as they can be used to construct complex proofs without revealing any information about the proofs.
File name: `src/traits/circuit.rs`. This file defines a trait named `StepCircuit` and an implementation of this trait named `TrivialTestCircuit` struct. Both the trait and struct are related to step functions in incremental computations. The main parts of this file include:
1. `StepCircuit` trait: This trait defines the methods that a step function for incremental computations must implement. These methods include:
- `arity`: Returns the number of inputs or outputs of each step.
- `synthesize`: Synthesizes a computation step and returns the variables corresponding to the step output.
- `output`: Returns the output of a step given the inputs.
2. `TrivialTestCircuit` struct: This struct implements the `StepCircuit` trait and simply returns the inputs. This struct may be used for testing or as a basic step function.
The code in this file primarily deals with step functions in incremental computations. In cryptography, incremental computations are a common technique that allows complex functions to be computed step by step without having to compute the entire function at once. This technique is especially useful in zero-knowledge proof systems as it can be used to construct complex proofs without having to generate the entire proof at once.
File name: `src/traits/commitment.rs`. This file defines some traits related to commitments. In cryptography, commitments are mechanisms that allow someone to commit to a value without revealing it immediately. This is necessary in many cryptographic protocols, such as zero-knowledge proofs. The main parts of this file include:
1. `CommitmentOps` trait: This trait defines the basic operations of commitments, including addition and assignment of additions.
2. `CommitmentOpsOwned` trait: This trait defines the basic operations for references to owned commitments.
3. `ScalarMul` trait: This trait defines the multiplication operation between commitments and scalars.
4. `CommitmentTrait` trait: This trait defines the behavior of commitments, including cloning, copying, defaulting, comparison, sending, syncing, serialization, deserialization, absorbing, operations, compression, decompression, etc.
5. `CommitmentEngineTrait` trait: This trait binds together different parts of commitment generation, including commitment keys, commitments, setup, commitment generation, etc.
The code in this file primarily deals with commitments in cryptography. These commitments are vital in zero-knowledge proof systems as they can be used to construct complex proofs without revealing any information about the proofs.
File name: `src/traits/evaluation.rs`. This file defines a trait named `EvaluationEngineTrait`. This trait defines the behavior of a polynomial evaluation engine, including setup, proving, and verification. The main parts of this file include:
1. `EvaluationEngineTrait` trait: This trait defines the methods that a polynomial evaluation engine must implement. These methods include:
- `setup`: This method is used for any additional setup required to generate evaluation proofs.
- `prove`: This method is used to prove the evaluation of a multilinear polynomial.
- `verify`: This method is used to verify a proof of evaluation for a multilinear polynomial.
This trait also defines some associated types, including:
- `CE`: This type is associated with the commitment engine.
- `ProverKey`: This type represents the prover’s key.
- `VerifierKey`: This type represents the verifier’s key.
- `EvaluationArgument`: This type represents the evaluation argument.
The code in this file primarily deals with polynomial evaluation in cryptography. It is an important step in zero-knowledge proof systems as it can be used to prove that a person knows a solution satisfying a set of polynomial equations without revealing any information about the solution.
File name: `src/traits/mod.rs`. This file is the main entry point for the traits module in the Nova project. It primarily defines traits for cryptographic operations. Traits are a key feature in Rust that allows the definition of abstract types that can be implemented by multiple concrete types. This enables writing generic code that can handle values of any type that implements a specific trait. The main parts of this file include:
1. `Group` trait: This trait defines the basic operations of a group, including cloning, copying, defaulting, comparison, sending, syncing, serialization, deserialization, absorbing, operations, compression, decompression, etc.
2. `CompressedGroup` trait: This trait defines the basic operations of a compressed group, including cloning, copying, comparison, sending, syncing, serialization, deserialization, etc.
3. `AbsorbInROTrait` trait: This trait defines a method `absorb_in_ro` for absorbing objects into a random oracle.
4. `ROTrait` trait: This trait defines the behavior of a random oracle, including initialization, absorption, and squeezing.
5. `ROConstantsTrait` trait: This trait defines constants for a random oracle.
6. `GroupOps` trait: This trait defines group operations, including addition, subtraction, addition assignment, and subtraction assignment.
7. `ScalarMul` trait: This trait defines scalar multiplication operations.
8. `TranscriptReprTrait` trait: This trait defines a `to_transcript_bytes` method for converting objects to byte sequences.
9. `TranscriptEngineTrait` trait: This trait defines the behavior of a transcript engine, including initialization, squeezing, absorption, and adding field separators.
The code in this file primarily deals with group operations, random oracles, and transcript engines in cryptography. These play important roles in zero-knowledge proof systems as they can be used to construct complex proofs without revealing any information about the proofs.
File name: `src/traits/snark.rs`. This file defines a trait named `RelaxedR1CSSNARKTrait`. This trait defines the behavior of a zero-knowledge succinct non-interactive argument of knowledge (zkSNARK), specifically for relaxed Rank-1 Constraint Systems (RelaxedR1CS). The main parts of this file include:
1. `RelaxedR1CSSNARKTrait` trait: This trait defines the methods that a zkSNARK must implement. These methods include:
- `setup`: This method is used for generating the keys for a prover and verifier.
- `prove`: This method is used to generate a succinct proof of satisfiability for a relaxed R1CS instance.
- `verify`: This method is used to verify a proof of satisfiability for a relaxed R1CS instance.
This trait also defines some associated types, including:
- `ProverKey`: This type represents the prover’s key.
- `VerifierKey`: This type represents the verifier’s key.
The code in this file primarily deals with zero-knowledge proofs in cryptography, particularly in R1CS proofs. R1CS is a system used to construct zero-knowledge proofs that can prove a person knows a solution satisfying a set of polynomial equations without revealing any information about the solution. zkSNARK is a specific zero-knowledge proof system that provides an efficient way to generate and verify proofs.
File name: `src/spartan/math.rs`. This file defines a trait named `Math` and implementations for the `usize` type. The `Math` trait defines several mathematical operations, including calculating powers of 2, getting binary bits, and computing logarithms. For the `usize` type, all the methods defined in the `Math` trait are implemented, utilizing built-in functions such as `pow`, bit shifting, bitwise AND operations, and the `leading_zeros` method for logarithms. This file provides basic mathematical operations that may be used by other parts of the code to implement more complex functionalities.
`src/spartan/math.rs`. This file defines a trait named `Math` and implementations for the `usize` type. The `Math` trait defines several mathematical operations, including calculating powers of 2, getting binary bits, and computing logarithms. For the `usize` type, all the methods defined in the `Math` trait are implemented, utilizing built-in functions such as `pow`, bit shifting, bitwise AND operations, and the `leading_zeros` method for logarithms. This file provides basic mathematical operations that may be used by other parts of the code to implement more complex functionalities.
File name: `src/spartan/mod.rs`. This module implements the `RelaxedR1CSSNARKTrait` using Spartan. This trait represents a universal polynomial commitment and evaluation parameters (PCS) in Spartan. The main structures and functions in this file are as follows:
1. `PolyEvalWitness`: This is a struct that contains a proof of a polynomial.
2. `PolyEvalInstance`: This is a struct that contains an instance of polynomial evaluation.
3. `ProverKey` and `VerifierKey`: These two structs represent the prover’s and verifier’s keys, respectively.
4. `RelaxedR1CSSNARK`: This struct represents a succinct proof of knowledge of a relaxed R1CS instance. The proof is generated using Spartan’s sum-check and vector-as-polynomial commitment combination.
5. `setup`: This function is used to set up the proof and verification keys.
6. `prove`: This function is used to generate a succinct proof of satisfiability for a relaxed R1CS instance.
7. `verify`: This function is used to verify a proof of satisfiability for a relaxed R1CS instance.
The code in this module mainly deals with zero-knowledge proofs in cryptography, particularly in R1CS (Rank-1ConstraintSystems) proofs. R1CS is a system used to construct zero-knowledge proofs, which can prove that a person knows a solution that satisfies a set of polynomial equations without revealing any information about the solution. Spartan is a specific zero-knowledge proof system that uses a type of \”relaxed\” R1CS, allowing for the use of randomness in the proofs, thereby improving efficiency.
File name: `src/spartan/polynomial.rs`. This file defines some basic types and operations related to polynomials. These types and operations are used to implement polynomial calculations in the Spartan protocol. The main parts of this file include:
1. `EqPolynomial`: This struct represents an equality polynomial. It includes a `new` method for creating a new polynomial, an `evaluate` method for evaluating the polynomial at a specified point, and an `evals` method for calculating the evaluations of the polynomial on all boolean inputs.
2. `MultilinearPolynomial`: This struct represents a multilinear polynomial. It includes a `new` method for creating a new polynomial, a `get_num_vars` method for getting the number of variables in the polynomial, a `bound_poly_var_top` method for binding the polynomial variables to the top, and an `evaluate` method for evaluating the polynomial at a specified point.
3. `SparsePolynomial`: This struct represents a sparse polynomial. It includes a `new` method for creating a new polynomial and an `evaluate` method for evaluating the polynomial at a specified point.
The code in this file mainly deals with polynomial calculations in cryptography, particularly in multilinear and sparse polynomial calculations. These calculations play an important role in zero-knowledge proof systems, as they can be used to construct complex proofs without revealing any information about the proofs.
File name: `src/spartan/pp.rs`. This file is a Rust language file in the Nova project. It mainly implements the functionality of the preprocessor in Nova. The preprocessor is a phase in the compilation process that performs some processing on the code before actual compilation. The main structures and functions in this file include:
1. `Preprocessor` struct: This is a struct for the preprocessor, containing the states and data the preprocessor needs.
2. `impl Preprocessor`: This is the implementation of the `Preprocessor` struct, containing some methods.
3. `fn new(source: String) -> Self`: This is the constructor of `Preprocessor` used to create a new instance of the preprocessor.
4. `fn preprocess(&mut self) -> Result<(), Error>`: This is the main function of the preprocessor, which preprocesses the input source code and returns the processed result. If an error occurs during processing, it returns an error.
5. `fn next_token(&mut self) -> Result<Token, Error>`: This function retrieves the next token from the source code. If an error occurs during processing, it returns an error.
6. `fn skip_whitespace(&mut self)`: This function skips whitespace characters in the source code.
7. `fn skip_comment(&mut self) -> Result<(), Error>`: This function skips comments in the source code. If an error occurs during processing, it returns an error.
8. `fn read_number(&mut self) -> Result<Token, Error>`: This function reads a number from the source code. If an error occurs during processing, it returns an error.
9. `fn read_identifier(&mut self) -> Result<Token, Error>`: This function reads an identifier from the source code. If an error occurs during processing, it returns an error.
10. `fn read_string(&mut self) -> Result<Token, Error>`: This function reads a string from the source code. If an error occurs during processing, it returns an error.
Overall, the `src/spartan/pp.rs` file implements the preprocessor in Nova. It preprocesses the source code by skipping white spaces and comments, and reading numbers, identifiers, and strings.
File name: `src/spartan/sumcheck.rs`. This file implements the Sumcheck algorithm in the Spartan protocol. The Sumcheck algorithm is used to verify polynomial sums and has widespread applications in zero-knowledge proof systems. The main parts of this file include:
1. `SumcheckProof`: This struct represents a Sumcheck proof. It includes a `new` method for creating a new proof, a `verify` method for verifying the proof, and several `prove` methods for generating the proof.
2. `UniPoly` and `CompressedUniPoly`: These two structs represent a univariate polynomial and a compressed univariate polynomial, respectively. They include methods for creating polynomials, evaluating polynomials, evaluating polynomials at specified points, and compressing and decompressing polynomials.
3. `TranscriptReprTrait`: This trait defines a `to_transcript_bytes` method for converting objects to byte sequences. This is a common operation in zero-knowledge proof systems as it can be used to add representations of objects to the transcript of a proof.
The code in this file mainly deals with the Sumcheck algorithm in cryptography, particularly in polynomial computations and proofs. These computations play an important role in zero-knowledge proof systems as they can be used to construct complex proofs without revealing any information about the proofs.
File name: `src/traits/circuit.rs`. This file defines a trait named `StepCircuit` and an implementation of this trait named `TrivialTestCircuit` struct. Both the trait and struct are related to step functions in incremental computations. The main parts of this file include:
1. `StepCircuit` trait: This trait defines the methods that a step function for incremental computations must implement. These methods include:
- `arity`: Returns the number of inputs or outputs of each step.
- `synthesize`: Synthesizes a computation step and returns the variables corresponding to the step output.
- `output`: Returns the output of a step given the inputs.
2. `TrivialTestCircuit` struct: This struct implements the `StepCircuit` trait and simply returns the inputs. This struct may be used for testing or as a basic step function.
The code in this file primarily deals with step functions in incremental computations. In cryptography, incremental computations are a common technique that allows complex functions to be computed step by step without having to compute the entire function at once. This technique is especially useful in zero-knowledge proof systems as it can be used to construct complex proofs without having to generate the entire proof at once.
File name: `src/traits/commitment.rs`. This file defines some traits related to commitments. In cryptography, commitments are mechanisms that allow someone to commit to a value without revealing it immediately. This is necessary in many cryptographic protocols, such as zero-knowledge proofs. The main parts of this file include:
1. `CommitmentOps` trait: This trait defines the basic operations of commitments, including addition and assignment of additions.
2. `CommitmentOpsOwned` trait: This trait defines the basic operations for references to owned commitments.
3. `ScalarMul` trait: This trait defines the multiplication operation between commitments and scalars.
4. `CommitmentTrait` trait: This trait defines the behavior of commitments, including cloning, copying, defaulting, comparison, sending, syncing, serialization, deserialization, absorbing, operations, compression, decompression, etc.
5. `CommitmentEngineTrait` trait: This trait binds together different parts of commitment generation, including commitment keys, commitments, setup, commitment generation, etc.
The code in this file primarily deals with commitments in cryptography. These commitments are vital in zero-knowledge proof systems as they can be used to construct complex proofs without revealing any information about the proofs.
File name: `src/traits/evaluation.rs`. This file defines a trait named `EvaluationEngineTrait`. This trait defines the behavior of a polynomial evaluation engine, including setup, proving, and verification. The main parts of this file include:
1. `EvaluationEngineTrait` trait: This trait defines the methods that a polynomial evaluation engine must implement. These methods include:
- `setup`: This method is used for any additional setup required to generate evaluation proofs.
- `prove`: This method is used to prove the evaluation of a multilinear polynomial.
- `verify`: This method is used to verify a proof of evaluation for a multilinear polynomial.
This trait also defines some associated types, including:
- `CE`: This type is associated with the commitment engine.
- `ProverKey`: This type represents the prover’s key.
- `VerifierKey`: This type represents the verifier’s key.
- `EvaluationArgument`: This type represents the evaluation argument.
The code in this file primarily deals with polynomial evaluation in cryptography. It is an important step in zero-knowledge proof systems as it can be used to prove that a person knows a solution satisfying a set of polynomial equations without revealing any information about the solution.
File name: `src/traits/mod.rs`. This file is the main entry point for the traits module in the Nova project. It primarily defines traits for cryptographic operations. Traits are a key feature in Rust that allows the definition of abstract types that can be implemented by multiple concrete types. This enables writing generic code that can handle values of any type that implements a specific trait. The main parts of this file include:
1. `Group` trait: This trait defines the basic operations of a group, including cloning, copying, defaulting, comparison, sending, syncing, serialization, deserialization, absorbing, operations, compression, decompression, etc.
2. `CompressedGroup` trait: This trait defines the basic operations of a compressed group, including cloning, copying, comparison, sending, syncing, serialization, deserialization, etc.
3. `AbsorbInROTrait` trait: This trait defines a method `absorb_in_ro` for absorbing objects into a random oracle.
4. `ROTrait` trait: This trait defines the behavior of a random oracle, including initialization, absorption, and squeezing.
5. `ROConstantsTrait` trait: This trait defines constants for a random oracle.
6. `GroupOps` trait: This trait defines group operations, including addition, subtraction, addition assignment, and subtraction assignment.
7. `ScalarMul` trait: This trait defines scalar multiplication operations.
8. `TranscriptReprTrait` trait: This trait defines a `to_transcript_bytes` method for converting objects to byte sequences.
9. `TranscriptEngineTrait` trait: This trait defines the behavior of a transcript engine, including initialization, squeezing, absorption, and adding field separators.
The code in this file primarily deals with group operations, random oracles, and transcript engines in cryptography. These play important roles in zero-knowledge proof systems as they can be used to construct complex proofs without revealing any information about the proofs.
File name: `src/traits/snark.rs`. This file defines a trait named `RelaxedR1CSSNARKTrait`. This trait defines the behavior of a zero-knowledge succinct non-interactive argument of knowledge (zkSNARK), specifically for relaxed Rank-1 Constraint Systems (RelaxedR1CS). The main parts of this file include:
1. `RelaxedR1CSSNARKTrait` trait: This trait defines the methods that a zkSNARK must implement. These methods include:
- `setup`: This method is used for generating the keys for a prover and verifier.
- `prove`: This method is used to generate a succinct proof of satisfiability for a relaxed R1CS instance.
- `verify`: This method is used to verify a proof of satisfiability for a relaxed R1CS instance.
This trait also defines some associated types, including:
- `ProverKey`: This type represents the prover’s key.
- `VerifierKey`: This type represents the verifier’s key.
The code in this file primarily deals with zero-knowledge proofs in cryptography, particularly in R1CS proofs. R1CS is a system used to construct zero-knowledge proofs that can prove a person knows a solution satisfying a set of polynomial equations without revealing any information about the solution. zkSNARK is a specific zero-knowledge proof system that provides an efficient way to generate and verify proofs.
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