Ethereum Improvement Proposal 4844 Implementor Call: Deneb API Versioning, Execution Header Updates, and Devnet 6 Planning

Terence.eth, a well-known Ethereum Community Developer, shared significant updates following the recent Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 4844 implementor call. The updates centered on three main areas: Deneb engine API versioning, the addition of data_gas_used to the execution header, and Devnet 6 scope and testing.

For Deneb engine API versioning, the discussion focused on addressing its complexities. The engine API supports the older version, and while this helps the new version to function with the previous one, it adds to the intricacy of the specifications, testing, and EL client implementation. To mitigate this, a proposal to restrict versioning to a 1:1 mapping was tabled, limiting backward compatibility.

In line with EIP1559, the need to add data_gas_used to the execution header was highlighted. Currently, data gas computation uses the parent header, not the current one, which some EL clients do not maintain. A proposal to add a new field, data_gas_used, to the payload was made to enhance consistency and avoid confusion.

On Devnet 6, it was agreed that the new data_gas_used changes will apply across the board to the EL spec, CL spec, and Engine-API spec. Plans to introduce data_gas_used for Devnet 6 were well-received, along with an additional EIP4844 enslave devnet before transitioning to the testnet.