For verifying signatures within a contract, the [Schnorrkel library](https://docs.rs/schnorrkel/latest/schnorrkel/) is utilized. This library provides support for Schnorr signatures using the Ristretto group, offering a robust framework for cryptographic operations. Imagine the format of the data to be signed as follows: ```rust pub struct SignatureData { pub key: ActorId, pub duration: u64, pub allowed_actions: Vec<ActionsForSession>, } ``` This structure includes a `key`, representing the unique identifier of an actor (e.g., a user or a system component), a `duration` indicating the validity period of the signature, and `allowed_actions`, a list of actions that the signer is permitted to perform within the session. The contract receives the fields specified in the structure (`key`, `duration`, `allowed_actions`), the `signature` itself (a byte array), public key of the signer (`pub_key`)through a function like: ```rust fn verify_signature( key: ActorId, duration: u64, allowed_actions: Vec<ActionsForSession>, signature: Vec<u8>, ) {} ``` To verify the signature, it's necessary first to reconstruct the payload that the user signed. The user’s data is encapsulated within a struct, `SignatureData`, which includes essential fields such as `key`, `duration`, and `allowed_actions`. This struct is then serialized (encoded) into a byte format. ```rust let message = SignatureData { key, duration, allowed_actions, }.encode(); ``` Following the serialization, the encoded message is framed with predefined prefixes and postfixes, <Bytes> and </Bytes>, respectively. This is essential since the operation is performed on the client side, requiring a consistent format for both the serialization and subsequent deserialization processes. ```rust let mut combined_message = Vec::new(); combined_message.extend_from_slice(b"<Bytes>"); combined_message.extend_from_slice(&message); combined_message.extend_from_slice(b"</Bytes>"); ``` *Signature Verification*: ```rust const SIGNING_CONTEXT: &[u8] = b"substrate"; fn verify_signature( key: ActorId, duration: u64, allowed_actions: Vec<ActionsForSession>, signature: Vec<u8>, pub_key: ActorId ) { ... // The signature and public key are converted from their byte representations. let signature = schnorrkel::Signature::from_bytes(&signature).expect("Invalid signature format"); let pubkey_bytes: [u8; 32] = pub_key.into(); let pub_key = schnorrkel::PublicKey::from_bytes(&pubkey_bytes).expect("Invalid public key format"); // Verification against the signing context, ensuring the message integrity. pub_key.verify_simple( SIGNING_CONTEXT, &combined_message, &signature ).expect("Signature verification failed"); } ```