bigchaindb/docs/server/source/data-models/transaction-model.rst

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The Transaction Model
=====================
A transaction has the following structure:
.. code-block:: json
{
"id": "<ID of the transaction>",
"version": "<Transaction schema version number>",
"inputs": ["<List of inputs>"],
"outputs": ["<List of outputs>"],
"operation": "<String>",
"asset": {"<Asset model; see below>"},
"metadata": {"<Arbitrary transaction metadata>"}
}
Here's some explanation of the contents:
- **id**: The ID of the transaction and also the hash of the transaction (loosely speaking). See below for an explanation of how it's computed. It's also the database primary key.
- **version**: The version-number of :ref:`the transaction schema <Transaction Schema>`. As of BigchainDB Server 1.0.0, the only allowed value is ``"1.0"``.
- **inputs**: List of inputs.
Each input spends/transfers a previous output by satisfying/fulfilling
the crypto-conditions on that output.
A CREATE transaction should have exactly one input.
A TRANSFER transaction should have at least one input (i.e. ≥1).
For more details, see the subsection about :ref:`inputs <Inputs>`.
- **outputs**: List of outputs.
Each output indicates the crypto-conditions which must be satisfied
by anyone wishing to spend/transfer that output.
It also indicates the number of shares of the asset tied to that output.
For more details, see the subsection about :ref:`outputs <Outputs>`.
- **operation**: A string indicating what kind of transaction this is,
and how it should be validated.
It can only be ``"CREATE"``, ``"TRANSFER"`` or ``"GENESIS"``
(but there should only be one transaction whose operation is ``"GENESIS"``:
the one in the GENESIS block).
- **asset**: A JSON document for the asset associated with the transaction.
(A transaction can only be associated with one asset.)
See :ref:`the page about the asset model <The Asset Model>`.
- **metadata**: User-provided transaction metadata.
It can be any valid JSON document, or ``null``.
**How the transaction ID is computed.**
1) Build a Python dictionary containing ``version``, ``inputs``, ``outputs``, ``operation``, ``asset``, ``metadata`` and their values,
2) In each of the inputs, replace the value of each ``fulfillment`` with ``null``,
3) :ref:`Serialize <JSON Serialization>` that dictionary,
4) The transaction ID is just :ref:`the SHA3-256 hash <Hashes>` of the serialized dictionary.
**About signing the transaction.**
Later, when we get to the models for the block and the vote, we'll see that both include a signature (from the node which created it). You may wonder why transactions don't have signatures… The answer is that they do! They're just hidden inside the ``fulfillment`` string of each input. What gets signed (as of version 1.0.0) is everything inside the transaction, including the ``id``, but the value of each ``fulfillment`` is replaced with ``null``.
There are example BigchainDB transactions in
:ref:`the HTTP API documentation <The HTTP Client-Server API>`
and
`the Python Driver documentation <https://docs.bigchaindb.com/projects/py-driver/en/latest/usage.html>`_.