EOSIO releases major update on EOSJO; entrusts key management to signature providers

On 4th October, EOSIO released a major update on the EOSJS, an Application Programming Interface [API] for the EOS blockchain nodes. EOSJS V20.0.0 Beta was released to add a key functionality to the API.

The team stated that over the recent months they studied the usage of the EOSJS API in many of the community applications and also in the company’s own projects.

Through the analysis, they concluded that in order to create a great user experience and provide a high level of security, the blockchain applications must not have access to a user’s private key.

They further stated:

“Instead, applications should propose transactions to secure signature providers like wallets or application browsers that are able to focus their efforts on storing keys in the most secure ways possible and provide a consistent user experience when signing transactions.”

Addressing the issue, the new version of EOSJS will include a built-in support for interchangeable signature providers. The team stated that the release version will move to a stable one after the community has fully tested the beta version.

Aligning as a community, the team intends to identify the different ways for managing keys across all kinds of applications. Through this method, the team will propose a standard for developing applications which enhance security and usability.

They further stated:

“In the future, this could even allow for trusted signature providers to create whitelists of actions and more user-friendly control akin to a permissions system or privacy settings in a non-blockchain application.”

In addition to the above, to improve scalability for developers, the version also includes an improved error handling feature, and strict typing via Typescript. The API has been simplified and will have fewer dependencies.

EOSJS version 20.0.0 offers many benefits to the EOSIO users, they added. Once the users adopt the upgraded API, popular wallets and browsers can be utilized to act as signature providers for blockchain applications. Users can familiarize themselves with preferred signature providers.

Developers can enjoy the benefit of adopting signature providers to lighten the burden of managing the security of keys. They can easily integrate with any of the EOSJS signature providers.

EOSIO team concluded by stating:

“We are excited for the future of a more secure and connected world on the EOSIO blockchain. Going forward we plan to formalize the release schedule and goals for the EOSJS library.”