Anatomy of a Simple Contract

This chapter will introduce you to the basics of Starknet contracts using a very simple smart contract as example. You will learn how to write a contract that allows anyone to store a single number on the Starknet blockchain.

Let's consider the following contract for the whole chapter. It might not be easy to understand it all at once, but we will go through it step by step:

#[starknet::interface]
trait ISimpleStorage<TContractState> {
    fn set(ref self: TContractState, x: u128);
    fn get(self: @TContractState) -> u128;
}

#[starknet::contract]
mod SimpleStorage {
    use core::starknet::storage::{StoragePointerReadAccess, StoragePointerWriteAccess};

    #[storage]
    struct Storage {
        stored_data: u128,
    }

    #[abi(embed_v0)]
    impl SimpleStorage of super::ISimpleStorage<ContractState> {
        fn set(ref self: ContractState, x: u128) {
            self.stored_data.write(x);
        }

        fn get(self: @ContractState) -> u128 {
            self.stored_data.read()
        }
    }
}

Listing 13-1: A simple storage contract

What Is this Contract?

Contracts are defined by encapsulating state and logic within a module annotated with the #[starknet::contract] attribute.

The state is defined within the Storage struct, and is always initialized empty. Here, our struct contains a single field called stored_data of type u128 (unsigned integer of 128 bits), indicating that our contract can store any number between 0 and \( {2^{128}} - 1 \).

The logic is defined by functions that interact with the state. Here, our contract defines and publicly exposes the functions set and get that can be used to modify or retrieve the value of the stored variable. You can think of it as a single slot in a database that you can query and modify by calling functions of the code that manages the database.

The Interface: the Contract's Blueprint

#[starknet::interface]
trait ISimpleStorage<TContractState> {
    fn set(ref self: TContractState, x: u128);
    fn get(self: @TContractState) -> u128;
}

Listing 13-2: A basic contract interface

Interfaces represent the blueprint of the contract. They define the functions that the contract exposes to the outside world, without including the function body. In Cairo, they're defined by annotating a trait with the #[starknet::interface] attribute. All functions of the trait are considered public functions of any contract that implements this trait, and are callable from the outside world.

The contract constructor is not part of the interface. Nor are internal functions.

All contract interfaces use a generic type for the self parameter, representing the contract state. We chose to name this generic parameter TContractState in our interface, but this is not enforced and any name can be chosen.

In our interface, note the generic type TContractState of the self argument which is passed by reference to the set function. Seeing the self argument passed in a contract function tells us that this function can access the state of the contract. The ref modifier implies that self may be modified, meaning that the storage variables of the contract may be modified inside the set function.

On the other hand, the get function takes a snapshot of TContractState, which immediately tells us that it does not modify the state (and indeed, the compiler will complain if we try to modify storage inside the get function).

By leveraging the traits & impls mechanism from Cairo, we can make sure that the actual implementation of the contract matches its interface. In fact, you will get a compilation error if your contract doesn’t conform with the declared interface. For example, Listing 13-3 shows a wrong implementation of the ISimpleStorage interface, containing a slightly different set function that doesn't have the same signature.

    #[abi(embed_v0)]
    impl SimpleStorage of super::ISimpleStorage<ContractState> {
        fn set(ref self: ContractState) {}
        fn get(self: @ContractState) -> u128 {
            self.stored_data.read()
        }
    }

Listing 13-3: A wrong implementation of the interface of the contract. This does not compile, as the signature of set doesn't match the trait's.

Trying to compile a contract using this implementation will result in the following error:

$ scarb cairo-run 
   Compiling listing_99_02 v0.1.0 (listings/ch13-introduction-to-starknet-smart-contracts/listing_02_wrong_impl/Scarb.toml)
error: The number of parameters in the impl function `SimpleStorage::set` is incompatible with `ISimpleStorage::set`. Expected: 2, actual: 1.
 --> listings/ch13-introduction-to-starknet-smart-contracts/listing_02_wrong_impl/src/lib.cairo:23:16
        fn set(ref self: ContractState) {}
               ^*********************^

error: Wrong number of arguments. Expected 2, found: 1
 --> listings/ch13-introduction-to-starknet-smart-contracts/listing_02_wrong_impl/src/lib.cairo:23:9
        fn set(ref self: ContractState) {}
        ^********************************^

error: could not compile `listing_99_02` due to previous error
error: `scarb metadata` exited with error

Public Functions Defined in an Implementation Block

Before we explore things further down, let's define some terminology.

In the context of Starknet, a public function is a function that is exposed to the outside world. A public function can be called by anyone, either from outside the contract or from within the contract itself. In the example above, set and get are public functions.
What we call an external function is a public function that can be directly invoked through a Starknet transaction and that can mutate the state of the contract. set is an external function.
A view function is a public function that is typically read-only and cannot mutate the state of the contract. However, this limitation is only enforced by the compiler, and not by Starknet itself. We will discuss the implications of this in a later section. get is a view function.

    #[abi(embed_v0)]
    impl SimpleStorage of super::ISimpleStorage<ContractState> {
        fn set(ref self: ContractState, x: u128) {
            self.stored_data.write(x);
        }

        fn get(self: @ContractState) -> u128 {
            self.stored_data.read()
        }
    }

Listing 13-4: SimpleStorage implementation

Since the contract interface is defined as the ISimpleStorage trait, in order to match the interface, the public functions of the contract must be defined in an implementation of this trait — which allows us to make sure that the implementation of the contract matches its interface.

However, simply defining the functions in the implementation block is not enough. The implementation block must be annotated with the #[abi(embed_v0)] attribute. This attribute exposes the functions defined in this implementation to the outside world — forget to add it and your functions will not be callable from the outside. All functions defined in a block marked as #[abi(embed_v0)] are consequently public functions.

Because the SimpleStorage contract is defined as a module, we need to access the interface defined in the parent module. We can either bring it to the current scope with the use keyword, or refer to it directly using super.

When writing the implementation of an interface, the self parameter in the trait methods must be of type ContractState. The ContractState type is generated by the compiler, and gives access to the storage variables defined in the Storage struct. Additionally, ContractState gives us the ability to emit events. The name ContractState is not surprising, as it’s a representation of the contract’s state, which is what we think of self in the contract interface trait. When self is a snapshot of ContractState, only read access is allowed, and emitting events is not possible.

Accessing and Modifying the Contract's State

Two methods are commonly used to access or modify the state of a contract:

read, which returns the value of a storage variable. This method is called on the variable itself and does not take any argument.

            self.stored_data.read()

write, which allows to write a new value in a storage slot. This method is also called on the variable itself and takes one argument, which is the value to be written. Note that write may take more than one argument, depending on the type of the storage variable. For example, writing on a mapping requires 2 arguments: the key and the value to be written.

            self.stored_data.write(x);

Reminder: if the contract state is passed as a snapshot with @ instead of passed by reference with ref, attempting to modify the contract state will result in a compilation error.

This contract does not do much apart from allowing anyone to store a single number that is accessible by anyone in the world. Anyone could call set again with a different value and overwrite the current number. Nevertheless, each value stored in the storage of the contract will still be stored in the history of the blockchain. Later in this book, you will see how you can impose access restrictions so that only you can alter the number.

The Cairo Programming Language

Anatomy of a Simple Contract

What Is this Contract?

The Interface: the Contract's Blueprint

Public Functions Defined in an Implementation Block

Accessing and Modifying the Contract's State