merged gnark master into this branch

.chglog/config.yml

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ style: github
 template: CHANGELOG.tpl.md
 info:
   title: CHANGELOG
-  repository_url: https://github.com/consensys/gnark
+  repository_url: https://github.com/Consensys/gnark
 options:
   commits:
     # filters:

CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md

@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ Examples of unacceptable behavior by participants include:
   advances
 * Trolling, insulting/derogatory comments, and personal or political attacks
 * Public or private harassment
-* Publishing others' private information, such as a physical or electronic
+* Publishing others' private information, such as physical or electronic
   address, without explicit permission
 * Other conduct which could reasonably be considered inappropriate in a
   professional setting
@@ -70,4 +70,4 @@ members of the project's leadership.
 This Code of Conduct is adapted from the [Contributor Covenant][homepage], version 1.4,
 available at https://www.contributor-covenant.org/version/1/4/code-of-conduct.html
 
-[homepage]: https://www.contributor-covenant.org
+[homepage]: https://www.contributor-covenant.org

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 
 [How to Contribute](#how-to-contribute)
 
+* [Guidelines for Non-Code and other Trivial Contributions](#guidelines-for-non-code-and-other-trivial-contributions)
 * [Reporting Bugs](#reporting-bugs)
 * [Suggesting Enhancements](#suggesting-enhancements)
 * [Pull Requests](#pull-requests)
@@ -17,10 +18,14 @@
 you are agreeing to uphold this code. Please report unacceptable behavior.
 ## How to Contribute
 
+
+### Guidelines for Non-Code and other Trivial Contributions
+Please keep in mind that we do not accept non-code contributions like fixing comments, typos or some other trivial fixes. Although we appreciate the extra help, managing lots of these small contributions is unfeasible, and puts extra pressure in our continuous delivery systems (running all tests, etc). Feel free to open an issue pointing to any of those errors, and we will batch them into a single change.
+
 ### Reporting Bugs
 #### Before Submitting A Bug 
 * Ensure the bug is not already reported by searching on GitHub under 
-[Issues](https://github.com/consensys/gnark/issues).
+[Issues](https://github.com/Consensys/gnark/issues).
 #### How Do I Submit a (Good) Bug?
 * If you are unable to find an open issue addressing the problem, open a new one. Be sure to include a 
 **title and clear description**, as much relevant information as possible, and a **code sample** or 
@@ -39,7 +44,7 @@ happens and under which conditions it normally happens.
 
 ### Suggesting Enhancements
 #### Before Submitting An Enhancement Suggestion
-* [Search](https://github.com/consensys/gnark/issues) to see if the enhancement has already been 
+* [Search](https://github.com/Consensys/gnark/issues) to see if the enhancement has already been 
 suggested. If it has, add a comment to the existing issue instead of opening a new one.
 
 #### How Do I Submit A (Good) Enhancement Suggestion?

README.md

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 [![PkgGoDev](https://pkg.go.dev/badge/mod/github.com/consensys/gnark)](https://pkg.go.dev/mod/github.com/consensys/gnark)
 [![Documentation Status](https://readthedocs.com/projects/pegasys-gnark/badge/)][`gnark` User Documentation] [![DOI](https://zenodo.org/badge/DOI/10.5281/zenodo.5819104.svg)](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5819104)
 
-`gnark` is a fast zk-SNARK library that offers a high-level API to design circuits. The library is open source and developed under the Apache 2.0 license.
+`gnark` is a fast zk-SNARK library that offers a high-level API to design circuits. The library is open-source and developed under the Apache 2.0 license.
 
 `gnark` uses [`gnark-crypto`] for the finite-field arithmetic and out-circuit implementation of cryptographic algorithms.
 
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ Checkout the [online playground][`gnark` Playground] to compile circuits and vis
 
 ## Security
 
-**`gnark` and [`gnark-crypto`] have been [extensively audited](#audits), but are provided as-is, we make no guarantees or warranties to its safety and reliability. In particular, `gnark` makes no security guarantees such as constant time implementation or side-channel attack resistance.**
+**`gnark` and [`gnark-crypto`] have been [extensively audited](#audits), but are provided as-is, we make no guarantees or warranties to their safety and reliability. In particular, `gnark` makes no security guarantees such as constant time implementation or side-channel attack resistance.**
 
 **To report a security bug, please refer to [`gnark` Security Policy](SECURITY.md).**
 
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ The tests are automatically run during every PR and merge commit. We run full te
 
 ## Performance
 
-`gnark` and `gnark-crypto` packages are optimized for 64bits architectures (x86 `amd64`) using assembly operations. We have generic implementation of the same arithmetic algorithms for ARM backends (`arm64`). We do not implement vector operations.
+`gnark` and `gnark-crypto` packages are optimized for 64bits architectures (x86 `amd64`) using assembly operations. We have a generic implementation of the same arithmetic algorithms for ARM backends (`arm64`). We do not implement vector operations.
 
 ## Backwards compatibility
 
@@ -86,6 +86,7 @@ You can also get in touch directly: [email protected]
 * [ZKSecurity.xyz - May 2024 - gnark standard library](audits/2024-05%20-%20zksecurity%20-%20gnark%20std.pdf)
 * [OpenZeppelin - June 2024 - gnark PLONK prover and verifier](https://blog.openzeppelin.com/linea-prover-audit)
 * [LeastAuthority - September 2024 - gnark general and GKR](audits/2024-09%20-%20Least%20Authority%20-%20arithm%20and%20GKR.pdf)
+* [LeastAuthority - November 2024 - Linea zkEVM](audits/2024-11%20-%20Least%20Authority%20-%20Linea%20zkEVM.pdf)
 
 ## Proving schemes and curves
 
@@ -195,9 +196,9 @@ assert.ProverSucceeded(&mimcCircuit, &Circuit{
 go test github.com/consensys/gnark/examples/mimc -tags=prover_checks,zeknox
 ```
 
-#### Icicle Library
+#### ICICLE Library
 
-The following schemes and curves support experimental use of Ingonyama's Icicle GPU library for low level zk-SNARK primitives such as MSM, NTT, and polynomial operations:
+The following schemes and curves support experimental use of Ingonyama's ICICLE GPU library for low level zk-SNARK primitives such as MSM, NTT, and polynomial operations:
 
 - [x] [Groth16](https://eprint.iacr.org/2016/260)
 
@@ -217,25 +218,25 @@ You can then toggle on or off icicle acceleration by providing the `WithIcicleAc
     proof, err := groth16.Prove(ccs, pk, secretWitness)
 ```
 
-For more information about prerequisites see the [Icicle repo](https://github.com/ingonyama-zk/icicle).
+For more information about prerequisites see the [ICICLE repo](https://github.com/ingonyama-zk/icicle). **NB! ICICLE CUDA kernels are covered by a special license for now. Follow the instructions to download and set up the kernels.**
 
 ## Citing
 
 If you use `gnark` in your research a citation would be appreciated.
 Please use the following BibTeX to cite the most recent release.
 
 ```bib
-@software{gnark-v0.11.0,
+@software{gnark-v0.12.0,
   author       = {Gautam Botrel and
                   Thomas Piellard and
                   Youssef El Housni and
                   Ivo Kubjas and
                   Arya Tabaie},
-  title        = {ConsenSys/gnark: v0.11.0},
-  month        = sep,
-  year         = 2024,
+  title        = {Consensys/gnark: v0.12.0},
+  month        = jan,
+  year         = 2025,
   publisher    = {Zenodo},
-  version      = {v0.11.0},
+  version      = {v0.12.0},
   doi          = {10.5281/zenodo.5819104},
   url          = {https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5819104}
 }
@@ -247,18 +248,18 @@ Please read [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) for details on our [code of condu
 
 ## Versioning
 
-We use [SemVer](http://semver.org/) for versioning. For the versions available, see the [tags on this repository](https://github.com/consensys/gnark/tags).
+We use [SemVer](http://semver.org/) for versioning. For the versions available, see the [tags on this repository](https://github.com/Consensys/gnark/tags).
 
 ## License
 
 This project is licensed under the Apache 2 License - see the [LICENSE](LICENSE) file for details
 
-[`gnark` Issues]: https://github.com/consensys/gnark/issues
+[`gnark` Issues]: https://github.com/Consensys/gnark/issues
 [`gnark` Playground]: https://play.gnark.io
 [`gnark` User Documentation]: https://docs.gnark.consensys.net/
-[GitHub discussions]: https://github.com/ConsenSys/gnark/discussions
+[GitHub discussions]: https://github.com/Consensys/gnark/discussions
 [Proving schemes and curves]: https://docs.gnark.consensys.net/Concepts/schemes_curves
 [`gnark-announce`]: https://groups.google.com/g/gnark-announce
 [@gnark_team]: https://twitter.com/gnark_team
 [`gnark-crypto`]: https://github.com/Consensys/gnark-crypto
-[`gnark-solidity-checker`]: https://github.com/Consensys/gnark-solidity-checker
+[`gnark-solidity-checker`]: https://github.com/Consensys/gnark-solidity-checker

SECURITY.md

@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ Issues in the **PUBLIC** track affect niche configurations, have very limited im
 
 Issues in the **PRIVATE** track are violations of committed security properties.
 
-**PRIVATE** track issues are fixed in the next scheduled minor releases , and are kept private until then.
+**PRIVATE** track issues are fixed in the next scheduled minor releases, and are kept private until then.
 
 Three to seven days before the release, a pre-announcement is sent to [`gnark-announce`] and [@gnark_team], announcing the presence of a security fix in the upcoming releases, and which component in gnark is affected; compiler, constraint system or proof system (but not disclosing any more details).
 
@@ -59,4 +59,4 @@ This process can take some time, especially when coordination is required with m
 The best way to receive security announcements is to subscribe to the [`gnark-announce`] mailing list. Any messages pertaining to a security issue will be prefixed with \[security\].
 
 [`gnark-announce`]: https://groups.google.com/g/gnark-announce
-[@gnark_team]: https://twitter.com/gnark_team
+[@gnark_team]: https://twitter.com/gnark_team

backend/backend.go

@@ -1,16 +1,5 @@
-// Copyright 2020 ConsenSys AG
-//
-// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
-// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
-// You may obtain a copy of the License at
-//
-//     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
-//
-// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
-// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
-// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
-// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
-// limitations under the License.
+// Copyright 2020-2025 Consensys Software Inc.
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0. See the LICENSE file for details.
 
 // Package backend implements Zero Knowledge Proof systems: it consumes circuit compiled with gnark/frontend.
 package backend