add swip-26: strictly typed chunk system

SWIPs/swip-26.md

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+---
+swip: 26
+title: Standardised Chunk Type Framework
+status: Draft
+type: Standards Track
+category: Core
+author: mfw78 (@mfw78)
+created: 2025-03-03
+---
+
+## Simple Summary
+This SWIP introduces a standardised framework for defining chunk types in Swarm, improving security and interoperability through consistent type identification and validation.
+
+## Abstract
+This SWIP proposes a standardised framework for defining and processing chunk types in Swarm. By creating a formal type system for chunks, including content-addressed chunks (CAC) and single-owner chunks (SOC), we improve security, interoperability, and maintainability across the Swarm ecosystem. The proposal defines a structured approach to chunk identification, versioning, and validation. The key innovation is the formal definition of fixed-length type-specific headers to be delivered alongside chunks and formally documenting address determination and payload validation rules.
+
+## Motivation
+Swarm's storage layer is built around chunks as the fundamental unit of data. Currently, the system supports multiple chunk types, but lack standardised headers. This creates several issues:
+
+1. **Ambiguous Processing**: Without explicit type information, chunk processing depends on implicit detection methods, leading to potential security vulnerabilities.
+
+2. **Limited Extensibility**: Adding new chunk types requires changes to core validation logic, making it difficult to evolve the system.
+
+3. **Inconsistent Validation**: Chunk validation logic is spread across multiple components, leading to potential inconsistencies.
+
+4. **Type-Safety Gaps**: Without formal type definitions, runtime type errors can occur when processing chunks.
+
+A standardised chunk type framework would address these issues by providing a consistent, extensible system for defining, identifying, and validating different chunk types.
+
+## Specification
+
+### Core Concepts
+
+#### 1. Chunk Structure
+
+A standardised chunk shall conceptually consist of:
+
+1. **Header**: Metadata describing the chunk and its contents
+   - Common Header: Information common to all chunk types (type, version)
+   - Type-Specific Header: Additional fields specific to the chunk type
+2. **Payload**: The actual chunk data
+
+The chunk's address is not part of the chunk itself but is deterministically derived from the chunk's contents based on its type.
+
+#### 2. Common Chunk Header
+
+The common chunk header shall contain:
+
+1. **Type**: The chunk type identifier (1 byte)
+2. **Version**: The chunk format version (1 byte)
+
+| Type ID | Name | Description |
+|---------|------|-------------|
+| 0x00    | CAC  | Content-addressed chunk |
+| 0x01    | SOC  | Single-owner chunk |
+| 0x02-0xFF | Reserved | Reserved for future chunk types |
+
+#### 3. Fixed-Length Type-Specific Headers
+
+All type-specific headers MUST be of fixed length for their respective chunk types. This ensures that at a wire-level, the maximum size of a chunk is always known and predictable, based on the first 2 bytes (type and version).
+
+Example header sizes:
+- CAC header: 10 bytes (2 bytes common header + 8 bytes span)
+- SOC header: 99 bytes (2 bytes common header + 32 bytes ID + 65 bytes signature)
+
+### Address Calculation
+
+The address of a chunk shall be deterministically calculated based on its type, version, and contents. We define the general address calculation function as:
+
+$$\text{Address} = f_{\text{type}}(\text{header}, \text{payload})$$
+
+Where $f_{\text{type}}$ is the type-specific address calculation function.
+
+#### Generic Address Derivation Function
+
+For any chunk type, the address derivation function can be formally defined as:
+
+$$f_{\text{type}}(\text{header}, \text{payload}) = \mathcal{H}(g_{\text{type}}(\text{header}, \text{payload}))$$
+
+Where:
+- $\mathcal{H}$ is a cryptographic hash function (i.e. `keccak256`)
+- $g_{\text{type}}$ is a type-specific data preparation function
+
+Different chunk types will implement specific derivation functions based on their requirements.
+
+### Chunk Type Specifications
+
+The Swarm Specifications shall define the standardised format for each chunk type. Adding a new chunk type to the specifications requires:
+
+1. Assignment of a unique type identifier
+2. Definition of fixed-length type-specific header structure
+3. Definition of payload structure
+4. Specification of address calculation function $f_{\text{type}}$
+5. Specification of validation requirements
+
+These specifications ensure that all implementations handle chunks consistently and securely across the Swarm ecosystem.
+
+### Type Processing
+
+The chunk processing logic shall:
+
+1. Receive the chunk type and version information from the wire protocol
+2. Use the type and version to determine the expected fixed-length type-specific header size as defined in the Swarm Specifications
+3. Verify that the received header matches the expected size for the given type
+4. Fail fast if the header is malformed or incomplete
+5. Extract the type-specific header fields
+6. Calculate the chunk address using the type-specific address calculation function
+7. Apply type-specific validation rules
+8. Process the payload according to type-specific structure
+
+This approach allows for early validation of chunk integrity based on protocol-level type information, reducing parsing errors and simplifying processing logic.
+
+#### Flowchart
+
+The flowchart below illustrates the processing steps for a chunk:
+
+```mermaid
+flowchart TD
+    Start[Receive chunk via wire protocol] --> A[Protobuf decodes chunk type, version, header, and payload]
+    A --> B{Header size matches expected size for type?}
+    B -->|No| C[Fail: Invalid header size]
+    B -->|Yes| D[Extract type-specific header fields]
+    D --> E[Calculate chunk address using type-specific function]
+    E --> F{Validate chunk content}
+    F -->|Invalid| G[Fail: Invalid chunk content]
+    F -->|Valid| H[Process payload according to type-specific structure]
+    H --> I[Pass processed chunk to appropriate protocol handler]
+    I --> End[Protocol-specific processing]
+```
+
+## Rationale
+
+The proposed standardised chunk type framework addresses several key issues in the current implementation:
+
+1. **Type Ambiguity**: By explicitly encoding chunk types in the header, we eliminate ambiguity in chunk processing, enhancing security and reliability.
+
+2. **Extensibility**: The formal specifications allow for future chunk types to be added in a standardised way without modifying core validation logic.
+
+3. **Validation Consistency**: Centralising validation rules in the specifications ensures consistent enforcement across components and implementations.
+
+4. **Memory Efficiency**: Fixed-length headers enable predictable memory allocation and reduce fragmentation.
+
+5. **Parsing Efficiency**: Type-specific parsing paths reduce the need for speculative parsing, improving performance.
+
+The design choices prioritise:
+- Security through explicit typing and validation
+- Efficiency through predictable memory allocation and fail-fast validation
+- Extensibility through the standardised specification system
+- Backward compatibility with existing chunk types
+
+## Backwards Compatibility
+
+This proposal maintains backward compatibility by:
+
+1. Preserving existing chunk address calculation methods for current chunk types
+2. Supporting current chunk formats with version 0 of each type
+3. Allowing for gradual adoption of the type system
+4. Providing a conversion layer between legacy and new chunk formats
+
+## Test Cases
+
+Test cases should include:
+
+1. **Header Validation**: Tests that verify correct parsing of type-specific headers for different chunk types
+2. **Address Calculation**: Tests that confirm proper address derivation for each chunk type
+3. **Size Verification**: Tests that ensure fixed-length headers meet their size requirements
+4. **Malformed Input**: Tests that verify proper rejection of malformed chunks
+5. **Version Handling**: Tests for correct processing of different versions of the same chunk type
+
+## Implementation
+
+Implementation will proceed in phases:
+
+1. Formalise the chunk type specifications for CAC and SOC in the Swarm Specifications
+2. Implement type-aware chunk processing in the node software
+3. Add validation framework for existing chunk types based on the specifications
+4. Develop compatibility layer for processing legacy chunks
+
+## Security Considerations
+
+The standardised chunk type framework improves security through:
+
+1. **Explicit Type Checking**: Reduces the risk of type confusion attacks
+2. **Fixed-Length Headers**: Prevents buffer overflow attacks
+3. **Early Validation**: Enables fail-fast behaviour for malformed chunks
+4. **Deterministic Addressing**: Ensures consistent and secure chunk addressing
+5. **Versioned Security**: Allows security improvements via version updates
+
+## Copyright Waiver
+
+Copyright and related rights waived via [CC0](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/).