Testing Delays Impact Ethereum's Pectra Upgrade

As Ethereum celebrates its ninth anniversary, developers are tackling significant challenges in testing and implementing Pectra, the next major upgrade for the network. During the recent All Core Devs call, developers discussed testing issues that are slowing progress in recent iterations of developer networks (devnets).

The launch of Devnet-1 faced problems due to issues with EIP-7702, leading to multiple forks that made bug detection difficult. To address this, developers quickly deployed Devnet-2, excluding EIP-7702 and concentrating on other Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs). EIP-7702, titled “Set EOA account code for one transaction,” allows an Ethereum address, whether an Externally Owned Account (EOA) or a wallet, to temporarily gain the abilities of a smart contract for one transaction. However, questions remain about whether these abilities should be limited to EOF addresses, as noted by Nethermind developer Ahmad Bitar during the call.

Bitar explained, “We want to potentially restrict delegation to EOF accounts, but we need more devnet testing on Pectra to determine if this is the right approach for 7702.”

EOF, a new format for Ethereum contracts, has been the most controversial part of the Pectra upgrade over the past year due to concerns about unexpected side effects and potential scope increases in an update as complex as the 2022 Merge to proof-of-stake. This aspect of Pectra is still undergoing testing and has not yet been integrated into devnets, according to Danno Ferrin, an independent Ethereum contributor. Mario Vega from the Ethereum Foundation testing team is developing new ways to test the code for potential issues.

“I’m worried about interactions between EOF and the other EIPs because we’re still writing tests,” Vega said, adding that they are not yet ready.

While testing is prioritized, the group has promised to revisit EOF’s integration in two weeks. Since EOF is a bottleneck to finalizing EIP-7702, Devnet-3 will reintroduce this EIP alongside other recent changes.

Limited developer resources for testing are also delaying decisions on EIP-7212, which introduces a precompiled contract for signature verification using the secp256r1 elliptic curve. Although it is a Candidate For Inclusion (CFI), it has not been definitively included in Pectra.

There are differing opinions on whether this should be implemented on the Ethereum mainnet or deferred to layer-2 solutions. Many teams want to see more progress on Pectra before reaching a consensus on EIP-7212 and other non-essential changes.

“I’d like to see how Pectra progresses over the next couple of months,” said core developer Lightclient. “7212 is easy to do, but we’re focused on Pectra now, and it doesn’t seem like the time to add more,” preferring to decide on this in the Fall. As Ethereum enters its tenth year, the August holiday period is expected to slow development, although the schedule of All Core Devs calls and smaller breakout team meetings will remain unchanged.

The Pectra upgrade involves significant changes and improvements to the Ethereum network, with EOF being particularly challenging. EOF aims to improve the Ethereum contract format, offering new functionalities and optimizations. However, its introduction has raised concerns about potential interactions with other EIPs and the overall complexity of the upgrade.

The Ethereum community is cautious about implementing changes that could inadvertently affect the network's stability and performance. Therefore, the testing and validation processes are crucial to ensuring that the upgrade proceeds smoothly without introducing unforeseen issues.

Despite the challenges, developers remain committed to advancing the Pectra upgrade. The focus is on thorough testing and careful evaluation of each component to ensure that the final implementation meets the high standards expected by Ethereum users.

The coming months will be crucial for the Pectra upgrade as developers continue to refine and test the proposed changes. As the Ethereum network enters its tenth year, the Pectra upgrade is a significant step forward, promising enhanced functionality and improved performance for users worldwide.