Ever wondered how changes are made in a decentralized system like Ethereum? In this article, you will understand what an Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) is, the different types, how to create an acceptable EIP, and who is qualified to create one.

What is an EIP?

You work for a multibillion-dollar company with a good paycheck, vacation, gym subscription, and more. However, a few of the company’s structure and policies hinder its growth and expansion. You have this great idea that could help in restructuring, so you present a Policy Improvement Proposal to the company’s investors, board of directors, and CEO before the changes can be implemented. Think of the Ethereum Improvement Proposal(EIP) as a Policy Improvement Proposal, but this time for Ethereum.

An EIP is a document that proposes to improve Ethereum. This improvement could be – adding a new feature, making changes to a known Ethereum process or implementation, informational guidelines, etc.

An EIP document contains every necessary detail like the improvement design, implementation details, security concerns, and more.

If you'd like to change something about how Ethereum has been programmed to function, the first step to take is creating an EIP.

Given the decentralized nature of Ethereum, anyone can create an EIP, as that is the means through which changes take place in Ethereum.

EIP Types

EIPs are categorized based on the specific area they aim to improve in Ethereum. There are three(3) types namely:

Standard EIP proposes changes to major Ethereum implementations like transaction rules, network protocol, application standards e.t.c They are further divided into subcategories namely:

Core: e.g. EIP-2028 proposed the reduction of gas cost, and EIP-7 allowed one smart contract to use the function of another contract.

Network e.g. EIP-8 forward-compatibility requirements for network protocols, and EIP-778 a new discovery format for Ethereum nodes.

Interface e.g. EIP-4736 created additional security for BLSToExecutionChange operation, and EIP-712 for data hashing and signing.

ERC e.g. EIP-20 for creating blockchain tokens, and EIP-721 for NFT ownership.

2. Meta EIP: also known as process EIP, describes or modifies a process associated with Ethereum, like guidelines, procedures, and changes in Ethereum development tools and environment. For example, EIP-6049 discourages the use of SELFDESTRUCT opcodes and EIP-779 explains the DAO fork.

Meta EIP type requires consensus by the Ethereum community.

3. Informational EIP: just like its name, provides information about an Ethereum design or concept. For example, EIP-2228 establishes a standard name – Ethereum Mainnet – for the Ethereum network with NetworkID 1 and chainID 1, and EIP-2982 explains the consensus mechanism for Ethereum Mainnet.

Because they do not require consensus like other EIP types, there is no obligation to accept or ignore them.

EIP Criteria and Process

Who can create an EIP?

Anyone in the Ethereum community can create an EIP.

You must read the EIP-1 because it outlines the full process, style, format, and criteria you must follow to create an acceptable EIP.

1) The first thing to do is announce your idea on the Ethereum Magicians Forum, just to be sure that no one is or has done the same thing in the past.

2)Clone the EIP-1 repository, add your EIP draft, and make a pull request to the Ethereum EIPs repository. Use this template for your draft

Your EIP draft should include:

Abstract: a clear and understandable summary of what the proposal does.
Motivation(optional): reason for the proposal and why the existing implementation is unable to solve the problem.
Specification: explain new syntax and semantics of the features, implementation steps, and guide.
Rationale: why the proposal is the right fit and what other solutions were considered.
Backward compatibility(optional): compatibility issues that will arise from implementing the proposal, and how you plan to handle it.
Reference implementation(optional): reference to an implementation guide or documentation.
Security consideration: security concerns significant to the implementation of the proposal, measures, or steps taken. This is compulsory for all EIPS
Copyright waiver

3) Move further to present your EIP to the editors, developers, and interested community members for review. The interest shown, readiness to implement, and positive or negative feedback given will be taken into consideration and determine the progression of your EIP through the EIP process.

4) EIP editors will check the readiness of your proposal against technical accuracy, grammar errors, markdown format, appropriate title, etc. If all checks are met, an EIP number is assigned to the proposal, your pull request is merged and a message is sent to you for the next steps.

EIP Process

Image from https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-1#eip-process

An EIP goes through different stages before approval, which is known as the EIP process. EIPs are reviewed by editors, the current editors are Alex Beregszaszi, Gavin Wood, Greg Colvin, Matt Garnett, and Sam Wilson.

Idea - the ideation stage. where the idea is vetted through conversations and discussions.
Draft: An EIP draft, accepted, merged, and tracked by an EIP Editor on the EIP repository
Review: An EIP is set for review.
Last call: The final review stage where an EIP assumes a last call status, and the Editor sets a last-call-deadline review period of 14 days.

If successful, the EIP moves to the next stage otherwise it reverts to the Previous(Review) stage.

Final: No changes to the EIP can be made here at this point, except for status updates. This is its finality state
Stagnant: An EIP that has been inactive in either draft, review, or last call stage for more than 6 months.
Withdrawn: An EIP withdrawn by the EIP Author.
Living: An EIP that will continually be updated.

References

Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) | ethereum.org

Home | Ethereum Improvement Proposals

EIP-1: EIP Purpose and Guidelines

EIP-6810: Ex Post Facto Cascading Revert

https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-1#eip-process