Society · Protocols
UniqueHandle
Single current authority over a transferable resource reference
Definition
Mechanism
An authority-bearing reference to one singular rivalrous Resource. An authoritative ownership state records `(resource_id, current_holder, generation)`. A representation may be copied, but the representation alone grants no authority: use or transfer is accepted only when its holder and generation match that state and the requester establishes current-holder control; stale or unverified representations fail closed. Transfer from A at generation g to B conditionally replaces `(A, g)` with `(B, g+1)` at one logical commit point. It either commits completely or leaves `(A, g)` unchanged, and at most one concurrent transfer from g commits. If the result is unobserved, the caller resolves the authoritative state before using or retrying the handle.
Invariants
- Single current authority: Exactly one `(holder, generation)` pair is current for each bound Resource; copying a representation does not create authority.
- Current-only authority: Use or transfer is accepted only when the presented holder and generation match the authoritative ownership state and current-holder control is established; the representation alone is insufficient.
- Atomic transfer: A transfer conditioned on `(A, g)` either commits `(B, g+1)` completely or leaves `(A, g)` unchanged; at most one transfer from the same generation commits.
- Unknown outcome: A caller that did not observe the transfer result resolves the authoritative state before using or retrying the handle.
Risks
Failure modes
Orphaned authority
The current holder loses the substrate-specific means of proving control, leaving the resource inaccessible until an external recovery policy advances the generation.
Authority-state unavailability
Currency cannot be established, so access and transfer fail closed.
Authority-state fork
Different validators accept different holder-generation pairs as current, violating singular authority.
Relationships
Builds on
References
Infrastructure
Finite allocatable entity
Used by
Accepts
Escrow primitive: value held until condition preimage revealed or timeout
Reference