Ethereum Client Removes Graphical Interface in Major Upgrade

Parity, the ethereum software client, has announced some major changes, including the stripping away of its graphical user interface (GUI).

In effect, the changes mean that Parity's "wallet" – that is, its repository of private keys – does not now exist for general, non-technical consumers. All "installers and operating-system specific packages" have also been removed.

According to newly published details for the Parity 2.0 client, the software is being positioned as "expert software for production use and shouldn't be considered end-user software or an 'Ethereum Wallet'."

At the heart of the change is a repositioning of sorts away from serving as a tool for everyday users, placing the emphasis on those that provide infrastructure on the ethereum network, primarily exchanges and miners.

As the post explains

:

"We reflect these strategic changes by completely removing the graphical user interface, the so-called 'Parity Wallet,' from the client. Furthermore, we have removed all installers and operating-system specific packages. In this way, we see Parity Ethereum as a piece of core infrastructure, to be bundled into end-user software packages such as graphical wallets or to be used as a library in mobile apps."

The announcement comes nearly one year to the day that roughly $30 million in ether were stolen as a result of a vulnerability in the Parity software. The bug was related to a specific multi-signature contract, as CoinDesk reported at the time.

Another, more serious code flaw resulted in the freeze of more than 500,000 ETH – an amount worth more than $250 million at press time – last November. According to a post-mortem published afterward, the deletion of a code library that supports Parity's multi-signature wallet sparked the fund lock-up.

Changes aside, those hoping to continue using a Parity-derived wallet can do so, according to the post, though the startup said that it will "only minimally maintain" the user interface that is linked out to on GitHub.

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