New Proposal：String Substring Search in Bitcoin Script - OP_ISSUBSTR

In a recent discussion on the Bitcoin Development Mailing List, Pieter highlighted a fundamental aspect of scripting within the context of cryptocurrency transactions. He pointed out that the individual responsible for generating the signature or witness necessary for spending a coin is inherently aware of the coin's position. This understanding underpins his argument that scripts should be designed to verify information rather than compute it. Consequently, he suggests that scripts could be more efficiently written by requiring this position as an input, thereby streamlining the verification process.

Further expanding on this principle, Pieter argues against the necessity of incorporating complex operations like division or square root opcodes into scripts, given the presence of a multiplication opcode. His rationale is grounded in the perspective that if information can be verified through simpler operations, there's no need to complicate scripts with additional computational functions. This approach not only simplifies the scripting process but also enhances its efficiency by focusing on verification over computation. This insight contributes to ongoing discussions about optimizing script functionality within the Bitcoin network, emphasizing the importance of simplicity and efficiency in cryptographic verification processes.