[Webfunds-users] router server API / Protocol idea

Sat, 31 Mar 2001 18:34:55 -0400

Vincent,

you've pretty well got it down, I commend your research.  A few quick
comments.

Vincent Youngs wrote:
>  then there is no reason an account couldn't have .00001 shares
> of stock, or spend the same...

Current versions of WebFunds and Ricardian Contracts recognise all
types of contracts with sub-units, not just currencies, although that's
only a recent change.

> One problem with routing the transaction forward from the XYZ share server
> like this is the uncertainty in knowing exactly how many shares of XYZ to
> sell.

What this does is introduce risk into the equation.  So this would
be something that a third party would build on top, using something
like CashBox as the middleware to drive the Ricardian Contracts,
and custom software on top of CashBox to manage the portfolios and
risks.

> However, it would be really cool if the programmers
> working at Systemics would put whatever is needed into the SOX protocol
> that would be needed to support router servers.

It seems unclear what else would be needed for this idea to work as is.

(As an observation, the SOX protocol is extensible by third parties,
and that is what the Trader side does:  extend SOX by replacing the
Payment/Deposit with a Trade request.  A committed programmer could
download WebFunds source and do that for any similar purposes.)

-- 
iang