3. Parameters

There are 3 mandatory parameters and 1 optional.

They are, in order:

1. data
2. algorithm
3. process type

Data

Expected data type: [][]byte⁽¹⁾

⁽¹⁾If empty will raise the empty list error.

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Algorithm parameter

Accepts a string that denotes the desired hashing algorithm. The following functionalities are in the registry:

Ident(2)	import	syntax
MD5	crypto/md5	md5.Sum(data)
SHA1	crypto/sha1	sha1.Sum(data)
SHA3SUM256	golang.org/x/crypto/sha3	sha3.Sum256(data)
SHA256SUM256	crypto/sha256	sha256.Sum256(data)
SHA512SUM256	crypto/sha512	sha512.Sum256(data)
SHA512SUM512	crypto/sha512	sha512.Sum512(data)

⁽²⁾Will raise an unknown hash algorithm error if no match is found.

Note:

• Other schemes can be added by editing the cryptofuncs.go source.
• Registry signature: var AlgorithmRegistry map[string]CryptoFunc
• Function signature: type CryptoFunc func([]byte) []byte

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Process Type

There are 3 process types that can be specified. Each one will handle unbalanced trees in it's own manner:

Value(3)	Process Name
0	Pass Through
1	Duplicate and Append
2	Binary Tree

⁽³⁾Incorrect value will raise the invalid process type error.

Notes:

1. Processing the same input data and subjecting it to different Process Types will obviously result in different Merkle Root values.
2. To the best of my knowledge, at the time of this writing, the Bitcoin cryptocurrency/blockchain uses "Duplicate and Append" method and "Pass Through" is used in the Monero cryptocurrency/blockchain.

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