Re: Crypto scripting language

[Hal <hfinney@shell.portal.com>]

From: peace@BIX.com
> I wrote a cryptographic scripting language that has been implemented in
> a commercial product.  I hesitate to post it here due to its length.
> If there is a place to send it where it can be archived for public
> down-load, I could do that.  I am in the process of writing it up for
> a symposium, but have other things that I would rather do.  If I could
> modify it to improve it's integration w/ telescript, I would like to
> do it, but I don't have telescript, does anyone here have it?

I'd like to hear more about your scripting language.  You could post it for
ftp to soda.berkeley.edu, or if it is something which should be export-
controlled you could consider asking mpj@csn.org to put it up on his U.S.-only
site.  In the mean time, perhaps you could describe the language here.  What
is its syntax like?  Interpreted or compiled?  What kind of special crypto
support does it have?  If you actually own the rights to it, I'm sure we
would be interested in looking at it.

Re Telescript: I sent away a few months ago for General Magic's press kit.
Telescript is a scripting language which they describe as being like "Postscript
for net communications" (not an exact quote).  Later this year, PDA's (Personal
Digital Assistants, like Newton) will be released which run GM software,
including the Magic Cap software.  Magic Cap provides a graphical user interface
that is said to be easier to use, with pictures of desks, buildings, etc. for
the user to tap on.  It will also run Telescript for its communications.

As I understand it, users will use Telescript to write agent scripts, which
will then be sent into the net where they can seek out information, negotiate
payment if necessary, even trade or sell things.  RSA is used for authen-
tication and protection.

It appears that these agents will require special software platforms where
they will run.  They won't just be able to surf the internet as it is today.
Instead, they will only run on Telescript servers, where typically sellers
of goods, services, and information will have their own agents waiting to
make deals.  AT&T is starting up a special network specifically for this
purpose called PersonaLink.  (It will also do ordinary email, presumably, as
this would be a subset of agent capabilities.)

In considering whether Telescript could become a new standard for commun-
ications and networking, one flaw I see is that it appears that the software
itself must be proprietary.  This would suggest that it will be difficult to
see Telescript servers spread through the Internet as WWW or gopher has done,
for example.  The internet as it is today does not mesh that well with pro-
prietary software.  Perhaps GM has a strategy for this but my impression is
that they intend to create their own network and put their efforts there.

I don't have any information on the language itself, so it's hard to judge
its suitability for crypto based protocols.  The RSA authentication and encryp-
tion is built in at some level, but I don't know whether it is transparent
(which would make it hard to replace) or explicitly called from the
scripts (which might suggest that other alternatives could be hooked in).
But the fact that the language is communications-oriented, and perhaps there-
fore is already set up to deal with the unreliability and delays we often see
with electronic communications, could be a good starting point.  Hopefully
when the PDAs hit the shelves in a few months we will start to see more infor-
mation on Telescript.

Hal