WO2018205730A1

WO2018205730A1 - Method and device for obtaining smart contract interface in blockchain

Info

Publication number: WO2018205730A1
Application number: PCT/CN2018/078517
Authority: WO
Inventors: 陈曦
Original assignee: 上海点融信息科技有限责任公司
Priority date: 2017-05-11
Filing date: 2018-03-09
Publication date: 2018-11-15
Also published as: CN107274186A

Abstract

Embodiments of the invention relate to a method and device for obtaining a smart contract interface in a blockchain. The method comprises: creating a smart contract; analyzing the smart contract to extract information of a functional interface in the smart contract; on the basis of the information of the functional interface, generating interface definition data of the smart contract; and adding the interface definition data into the smart contract. Also disclosed is a corresponding equipment. In addition, the embodiments of the invention also provide a corresponding method and device for calling the smart contract. The embodiments of the invention put forward a scheme for obtaining a smart contract interface in a blockchain, effectively solve the problem that the smart contract interface cannot be directly obtained on the chain, and enhance user friendliness of the smart contract.

Description

Method and apparatus for obtaining a smart contract interface in a blockchain

Technical field

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to blockchain techniques and, in particular, to a method and apparatus for obtaining a smart contract interface in a blockchain.

Background technique

The rapid development of blockchain is closely related to the presentation and use of smart contracts. A smart contract is a set of commitments defined in digital form, including the rights and obligations agreed upon by the contract participants. The digital form means that the commitment needs to be written into the machine in readable code. As long as the parties reach an agreement, the rights and obligations established by the smart contract are guaranteed by the machine or network system.

Smart contracts based on blockchain technology can not only take advantage of the cost-efficiency of smart contracts, but also avoid the interference of malicious behavior on the normal execution of contracts. The smart contract is written into the blockchain in a digitized form. The characteristics of the blockchain technology ensure that the entire process of storage, reading and execution is transparent and traceable and cannot be tampered with. At the same time, a set of state machine systems is built up by the consensus algorithm of the blockchain, so that the smart contract can run efficiently.

Currently, the interface definition of smart contracts and the code on the blockchain of smart contracts are in a completely separate state. That is to say, the creator of the smart contract needs to send the interface information of the smart contract to the caller of the smart contract under the chain, so that it can realize the expected function of the smart contract. In addition, in the case of an upgrade of the smart contract interface, it is necessary to additionally inform the caller of the updated information. As a result, it is inconvenient for the application of smart contracts.

Summary of the invention

In view of this, it is desirable to provide a solution to obtain a smart contract interface in a blockchain to facilitate the application of smart contracts.

In general, embodiments of the present disclosure propose methods and apparatus for obtaining a smart contract interface in a blockchain.

In a first aspect of the present disclosure, a method for obtaining a smart contract interface in a blockchain is provided. The method includes: creating a smart contract; extracting information of a functional interface in the smart contract by parsing the smart contract; generating interface definition data of the smart contract based on the information of the functional interface; and adding the interface definition data to the smart contract.

In some embodiments, generating the interface definition data includes representing the interface definition data in a structured data exchange format based on the information of the functional interface.

In some embodiments, adding interface definition data to the smart contract includes: generating an acquisition function to obtain interface definition data based on the interface definition data; and adding the acquisition function to the smart contract.

In some embodiments, after adding, the smart contract is compiled to generate bytecode to facilitate deployment of the smart contract to the blockchain.

In a second aspect of the present disclosure, a method for obtaining a smart contract interface in a blockchain is provided. The method includes: calling an acquisition function of an interface definition data for acquiring a smart contract based on a contract address of the smart contract; and parsing the acquisition function to obtain interface definition data of the smart contract.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises: obtaining information of the functional interface in the smart contract from the interface definition data; and invoking a functional interface in the smart contract based on the information of the functional interface.

In a third aspect of the present disclosure, an electronic device is provided. The electronic device includes: a processor; a memory coupled to the processor and storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the electronic device to perform the following actions: creating a smart contract; extracting a functional interface in the smart contract by parsing the smart contract Information; based on the information of the functional interface, generating interface definition data for the smart contract; and adding the interface definition data to the smart contract.

In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, an electronic device is provided. The electronic device includes a processor, a memory coupled to the processor and storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the electronic device to perform an action of: calling interface definition data for acquiring a smart contract based on a contractual address of the smart contract; The get function; and the parse get function to get the interface definition data of the smart contract.

According to a fifth aspect of the invention there is provided a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program instructions stored thereon for performing the first and second aspects of the present disclosure The method described.

Embodiments of the present disclosure propose a scheme for obtaining a smart contract interface in a blockchain, which effectively solves the problem that the smart contract interface cannot be directly acquired on the chain, and enhances the user-friendliness of the smart contract.

DRAWINGS

The above and other features, advantages and aspects of the various embodiments of the present disclosure will become more apparent. In the figures, the same or similar reference numerals indicate the same or similar elements, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example flow diagram of a method of obtaining a smart contract interface in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure;

2 illustrates an example flow diagram of a method of obtaining a smart contract interface, in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of a device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

detailed description

The embodiments of the present disclosure will now be specifically described in conjunction with the drawings. It should be noted that like reference numerals may be used in the drawings. The attached drawings are only intended to illustrate embodiments of the present disclosure. Alternative embodiments can be derived from the following description without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

As used herein, the term "comprise" and its various variants may be understood to mean an open term, which means "including but not limited to". The term "based on" can be understood to mean "based at least in part." The term "one embodiment" may be taken to mean "at least one embodiment." The term "another embodiment" may be understood to mean "at least one other embodiment."

Blockchain-based smart contracts include transaction processing and preservation mechanisms and a complete state machine for accepting and processing various smart contracts; and transaction preservation and state processing are done on the blockchain. The transaction mainly contains the data that needs to be sent; the event is the description of the data. After the transaction and event information is passed into the smart contract, the resource status in the contract resource set is updated, which in turn triggers the smart contract for state machine judgment. If the trigger condition of one or several actions in the automatic state machine is satisfied, the state machine automatically executes the contract action according to the preset information.

As mentioned earlier, the smart contract application in the blockchain is increasing, but the interface information of the smart contract needs to send the interface of the smart contract to the caller of the smart contract through the chain. To promote understanding, Example (1) shows an illustrative example of a blockchain smart contract.

Sample code (1)

As an example, in particular, the above smart contract Coin consists of a set of code (a function of a smart contract, a called method or a transaction and an event) and data (a state of a smart contract) that implements a simple cryptocurrency. Among them, the functions called by the user or other contract to complete the contract function include mint and send. The sample code shows that nothing happens if someone other than the smart contract creator calls the function mint; the function send can be called by any user with a certain number of tokens to send some tokens to other users.

When the caller of a smart contract needs to call the smart contract Coin, it needs to know the interface information of the smart contract, such as the name of the calling function, parameters, and so on. As mentioned earlier, this information needs to be passed to the caller by the creator of the smart contract through other means outside the blockchain. When the interface of the smart contract changes, it is also necessary to inform the caller of the updated interface information.

The embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a scheme for obtaining a smart contract interface, which manages the interface definition of the smart contract and the source code on the blockchain, thereby avoiding the delivery of the smart contract interface to the caller under the chain.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example flow diagram of a method 100 of obtaining a smart contract interface, in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. It will be appreciated that the method 100 can be performed by a smart contract creator.

At 110, create a smart contract. Smart contract creators can create smart contracts, such as writing smart contracts in the appropriate language, such as Solidity, Serpent, etc., as needed. Example (1) is a smart contract created with the current most popular smart contract language Solidity.

Next, at 120, the information of the functional interface in the smart contract is extracted by parsing the smart contract. In one embodiment, the relevant information of the functional interface or function in the smart contract, such as the function name, function parameters, etc., is extracted by parsing the smart contract source code. For example, in Example 1, the related information for calling the send function is called.

At 130, based on the information of the functional interface, interface definition data of the smart contract is generated. In one example, the interface definition data is represented in a structured data exchange format based on information of the functional interface. These formats may include lightweight data exchange (JSON) based on the JavaScript language, Extensible Markup Language (XML), another markup language (YAML), and the like.

To simplify the example to facilitate understanding, Example (2) gives a simple contract test to further illustrate an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Sample code (2)

Contract test{

Function multiply(uint a)returns(uint d){return a*7;}

}

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, interface information such as an example contract test may be extracted and interface definition data generated. For example, as follows:

[{"constant":false,"inputs":[{"name":"a","type":"uint256"}],"name":"multiply","outputs":[{"name": "d", "type": "uint256"}], "payable": false, "type": "function"}]

At 140, interface definition data is added to the smart contract. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, based on the interface definition data, an acquisition function to acquire interface definition data is generated, and the acquisition function is added to the smart contract.

For example, for the example contract test, you can generate the get function getABI and add getABI to the contract test. The sample code is as follows:

In this way, the interface definition of the smart contract and the source code on the chain are managed in a unified manner. The original bytecode generation process can then be performed. Compile smart contracts to generate bytecode to facilitate the deployment of smart contracts into the blockchain.

After the smart contract is deployed in the blockchain, the caller can know the blockchain address of the smart contract. Correspondingly, the caller can call the interface fetch function on the chain according to the contract address, so that the specific logical operations can be continued on the chain.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example flow diagram of a method 200 of obtaining a smart contract interface in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure. It will be appreciated that the method 200 can be performed by a smart contract caller.

At 210, based on the contractual address of the smart contract, an acquisition function to obtain interface definition data for the smart contract is invoked. According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the smart contract caller can obtain the smart contract interface directly on the chain by deploying the smart contract in the method 100 as described above.

At 220, the fetch function is parsed to obtain the interface definition data for the smart contract. As an example, for example, the caller can obtain the address of the smart contract test and parse the get function as follows.

contractEmpty=contract().address(address);

Abi=json.parse(decode(contractEmpty.getABI))

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the method 200 further includes obtaining information of a function interface in the smart contract from the interface definition data; and invoking a function interface in the smart contract based on the information of the function interface. For example, the functional interface in the smart contract test can be called as follows.

contractExample=contract(abi).address(address);

contractExample.multiply(123);

Therefore, the smart contract caller does not need to obtain the smart contract interface definition from the chain, but calls the getABI interface according to the contract address. After obtaining the return result, it continues to call other functional interfaces to implement specific logical operations.

Through the embodiments of the present disclosure described above, a scheme of obtaining a smart contract interface in a blockchain is provided. The solution is relatively simple, easy to use for smart contracts, and improves the user-friendliness of smart contracts.

FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic block diagram of an electronic device 300 that can be used to implement embodiments of the present disclosure. It should be understood that the electronic device 300 can be implemented as a smart contract creation or calling device, or the electronic device 300 can also be implemented as any one of the smart contract creation or calling devices. As shown in FIG. 3, device 300 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 301 (e.g., a processor) that can be loaded into random access memory from computer program instructions stored in read only memory (ROM) 302 or from storage unit 308 ( Computer program instructions in RAM) 303 to perform various appropriate actions and processes. In the RAM 303, various programs and data required for the operation of the device 300 can also be stored. The CPU 301, the ROM 302, and the RAM 303 are connected to each other through a bus 304. An input/output (I/O) interface 305 is also coupled to bus 304.

A plurality of components in device 300 are coupled to I/O interface 305, including: input unit 306, such as a keyboard, mouse, etc.; output unit 307, such as various types of displays, speakers, etc.; storage unit 308, such as a magnetic disk, optical disk, etc. And a communication unit 309 such as a network card, a modem, a wireless communication transceiver, and the like. Communication unit 309 allows device 300 to exchange information/data with other devices over a computer network such as the Internet and/or various telecommunication networks.

The various methods described above, such as

method

100 or 200, may be performed by processing unit 301. For example, in some embodiments,

method

100 or 200 can be implemented as a computer software program that is tangibly embodied in a machine readable medium, such as storage unit 308. In some embodiments, some or all of the computer program may be loaded and/or installed onto device 300 via ROM 302 and/or communication unit 309. When a computer program is loaded into RAM 303 and executed by CPU 301, one or more of the acts or steps of

method

100 or 200 described above may be performed.

In general, the various example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, firmware, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which can be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. When the various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated or described as a block diagram, a flowchart, or some other graphical representation, it will be understood that the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be non-limiting. Examples are implemented in hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

As an example, a general purpose processor, digital signal processor (DSP), application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or The various exemplary logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the present disclosure are implemented or executed in any combination of the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, a combination of one or more microprocessors and a DSP core, or any other such structure.

By way of example, embodiments of the present disclosure may be described in the context of machine-executable instructions, such as in a program module that is executed in a device on a real or virtual processor of a target. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, and the like that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data structures. In various embodiments, the functionality of the program modules may be combined or divided between the described program modules. Machine-executable instructions for program modules can be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, program modules can be located in both local and remote storage media.

Computer program code for implementing the methods of the present disclosure can be written in one or more programming languages. The computer program code can be provided to a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer or a processor of other programmable data processing apparatus such that the program code, when executed by a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, causes a flowchart and/or block diagram. The functions/operations specified in are implemented. The program code can execute entirely on the computer, partly on the computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the computer and partly on the remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server.

In the context of the present disclosure, a machine-readable medium can be any tangible medium that contains or stores a program for or relating to an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The machine readable medium can be a machine readable signal medium or a machine readable storage medium. A machine-readable medium can include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination thereof. More detailed examples of machine readable storage media include electrical connections with one or more wires, portable computer disks, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read only Memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical storage device, magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination thereof.

In addition, although the operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring such operations to be performed in a particular order or in a sequential order, or all illustrated operations are performed to obtain the desired results. In some cases, multitasking or parallel processing can be beneficial. As such, the present invention is not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention. Certain features that are described in this specification in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can be implemented in various embodiments or in any suitable sub-combination.

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methods, it is understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not limited to the specific features or acts described. Instead, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

A method for obtaining a smart contract interface in a blockchain, comprising:

Create a smart contract;

Extracting information of a functional interface in the smart contract by parsing the smart contract;

Generating interface definition data of the smart contract based on the information of the function interface;

Adding the interface definition data to the smart contract.
The method of claim 1 wherein generating the interface definition data comprises:

The interface definition data is represented in a structured data exchange format based on the information of the functional interface.
The method of claim 1 wherein adding the interface definition data to the smart contract comprises:

Generating an acquisition function for acquiring the interface definition data based on the interface definition data;

Adding the acquisition function to the smart contract.
The method of claim 1 further comprising, after said adding:

The smart contract is compiled to generate bytecode to facilitate deployment of the smart contract into the blockchain.
A method for obtaining a smart contract interface in a blockchain, comprising:

Retrieving an acquisition function for obtaining interface definition data of the smart contract based on a contractual address of the smart contract;

The acquisition function is parsed to obtain interface definition data of the smart contract.
The method of claim 5 further comprising:

Acquiring information of the functional interface in the smart contract from the interface definition data;

A function interface in the smart contract is invoked based on the information of the functional interface.
An electronic device comprising:

processor;

a memory coupled to the processor and storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the electronic device to perform the following actions:

Create a smart contract;

Extracting information of a functional interface in the smart contract by parsing the smart contract;

Generating interface definition data of the smart contract based on the information of the function interface;

Adding the interface definition data to the smart contract.
The electronic device of claim 7, wherein the action further comprises:

The interface definition data is represented in a structured data exchange format based on the information of the functional interface.
The electronic device of claim 7, wherein the action further comprises:

Generating an acquisition function for acquiring the interface definition data based on the interface definition data;

Adding the acquisition function to the smart contract.
The electronic device of claim 7, wherein the action further comprises:

After the adding, the smart contract is compiled to generate a bytecode to facilitate deployment of the smart contract into the blockchain.
An electronic device comprising:

processor;

a memory coupled to the processor and storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the electronic device to perform the following actions:

Retrieving an acquisition function for obtaining interface definition data of the smart contract based on a contractual address of the smart contract;

The acquisition function is parsed to obtain interface definition data of the smart contract.
The electronic device of claim 11 wherein said action further comprises:

Acquiring information of the functional interface in the smart contract from the interface definition data;

A function interface in the smart contract is invoked based on the information of the functional interface.
A computer readable storage medium having computer readable program instructions stored thereon for performing the method of any of claims 1-4.
A computer readable storage medium having computer readable program instructions stored thereon for performing the method of any of claims 5-6.