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Lightning Network Review
In this brief review we add some important features of C-lightning and we list the most widely used implementations in the lightning network Today, although there are more. All implementations follow the Basis of Lightning Technology (BOLT) documents describe a layer-2 protocol for off-chain bitcoin transfers. The specifications are currently a work-in-progress and currently being drafted.
| Name | Description | BitcoinStandup | Language | Repository |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C-lighting | Blockstream | X | C | Download |
| LND | Lightning Labs | X | Go | Download |
| Eclair | ACINQ | - | Scala | Download |
Plugins
c-lightning is a lightweight, highly customizable and standard compliant implementation of the Lightning Network protocol. The way c-lightning extend the functionality is using Plugins, that are a powerful and easy way to do it. Mainly they are subprocesses that are initiated by lightningd daemon and can interact with lightningd in a different ways:
- Command line option that allows plugins to register their own command line options that are exposed through lightningd.
- JSON-RPC command passthrough allows plugins to add their own commands to the JSON-RPC interface.
- Event stream subscriptions provide plugins with a push-based notification mechanism about events from the lightningd.
- Hooks are a primitive option that allows plugins to be notified about events in lightningd daemon and modify its behavior or pass custom behaviors.
A plugin may be written in any language, and communicates with lightningd through the plugin’s stdin and stdout. JSON-RPCv2 is used as protocol on top of the two streams, with the plugin acting as server and lightningd acting as client.
Here is a updated list of plugins available.