Build a basic project
Before you start
Make sure you have Node installed.
$ node --versionv14.16.1
If it isn't installed, download it or use a package manager.
Create a project
In your terminal or command prompt do the following:
1) Let's create a folder for our super simple project
mkdir eth-project && cd eth-project
2) Now initialize it
npm init -y
Add truffle
1) Install Truffle.
This will allow you to deploy a smart contract to a blockchain. Truffle can be installed locally inside your project using npx to install an executable. This makes it easier to manage versions for each project you build.
Make sure you are in your project directory first. e.g. eth-project
npm install --save-dev truffle
2) Initialize a truffle project inside your folder.
npx truffle init Starting init...================> Copying project files to /home/eth-project Init successful, sweet!Try our scaffold commands to get started:$ truffle create contract YourContractName # scaffold a contract$ truffle create test YourTestName # scaffold a testhttp://trufflesuite.com/docs3) Open your project in your preferred code editor e.g Visual Studio Code Editor to view the newly created folders - contracts, migrations and test. You can also see a new truffle-config.js file containing default code.
Write a simple contract
This Storage contract is very straightforward. It stores an integer on the blockchain that can be retrieved by running the retrieve function. It is the same file used in Remix
1) Create a new file in your Contracts folder and paste the code below into it.
2) Save it as Storage.sol.
// SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-3.0
pragma solidity >=0.7.0 <0.9.0;
/**
Store & retrieve value in a variable
*/
contract Storage {
uint256 number;
/**
* function - Stores value in variable
* parameter - num value to store
*/
function store(uint256 num) public {
number = num;
}
/**
* Return value
* return value of 'number'
*/
function retrieve() public view returns (uint256){
return number;
}
}
Compile the contract
The Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) executes the logic defined in the smart contracts but it doesn't understand high level languages. Instead, the solidity contract needs to be compiled into executable bytecode.
1) Let's check the solidity version of our contract. It uses any version from 0.7.0 to 0.8.9. So let's ensure our truffle-config.js file to match.
2) Locate the Compilers section, specify a compatible version and toggle the comment into code.
// Configure your compilers
compilers: {
solc: {
version: "^0.8.0",
3) Now you can compile with a single command:
npx truffle compile
The contract is compiled and a new build/contracts directory is created.
Deploy contract
With our project setup complete all is ready to deploy Storage.sol to the blockchain.
Truffle uses migrations to deploy contracts. Migrations consist of JavaScript files and a special Migrations contract to track migrations on-chain.
Prior to using a testnet it is better to run a local blockchain on your machine. Doing this provides you with all the ETH you need, and mines blocks instantly.
Ganache allows you to run a blockchain locally with ease.
1) Install Ganache
npm install --save-dev ganache-cli
2) Start Ganache in deterministic mode:
npx ganache-cli --deterministic
You get a response with a list of available accounts, private keys and some blockchain config values. It also displays an address to connect to it. 127.0.0.1:8545.
Ganache CLI v6.12.2 (ganache-core: 2.13.2)
Available Accounts
==================
(0) 0x90F8bf6A479f320ead074411a4B0e7944Ea8c9C1 (100 ETH)
(1) 0xFFcf8FDEE72ac11b5c542428B35EEF5769C409f0 (100 ETH)
(2) 0x22d491Bde2303f2f43325b2108D26f1eAbA1e32b (100 ETH)
(3) 0xE11BA2b4D45Eaed5996Cd0823791E0C93114882d (100 ETH)
(4) 0xd03ea8624C8C5987235048901fB614fDcA89b117 (100 ETH)
(5) 0x95cED938F7991cd0dFcb48F0a06a40FA1aF46EBC (100 ETH)
(6) 0x3E5e9111Ae8eB78Fe1CC3bb8915d5D461F3Ef9A9 (100 ETH)
(7) 0x28a8746e75304c0780E011BEd21C72cD78cd535E (100 ETH)
(8) 0xACa94ef8bD5ffEE41947b4585a84BdA5a3d3DA6E (100 ETH)
(9) 0x1dF62f291b2E969fB0849d99D9Ce41e2F137006e (100 ETH)
Private Keys
==================
(0) 0x4f3edf983ac636a65a842ce7c78d9aa706d3b113bce9c46f30d7d21715b23b1d
(1) 0x6cbed15c793ce57650b9877cf6fa156fbef513c4e6134f022a85b1ffdd59b2a1
(2) 0x6370fd033278c143179d81c5526140625662b8daa446c22ee2d73db3707e620c
(3) 0x646f1ce2fdad0e6deeeb5c7e8e5543bdde65e86029e2fd9fc169899c440a7913
(4) 0xadd53f9a7e588d003326d1cbf9e4a43c061aadd9bc938c843a79e7b4fd2ad743
(5) 0x395df67f0c2d2d9fe1ad08d1bc8b6627011959b79c53d7dd6a3536a33ab8a4fd
(6) 0xe485d098507f54e7733a205420dfddbe58db035fa577fc294ebd14db90767a52
(7) 0xa453611d9419d0e56f499079478fd72c37b251a94bfde4d19872c44cf65386e3
(8) 0x829e924fdf021ba3dbbc4225edfece9aca04b929d6e75613329ca6f1d31c0bb4
(9) 0xb0057716d5917badaf911b193b12b910811c1497b5bada8d7711f758981c3773
HD Wallet
==================
Mnemonic: myth like bonus scare over problem client lizard pioneer submit female collect
Base HD Path: m/44'/60'/0'/0/{account_index}
Gas Price
==================
20000000000
Gas Limit
==================
6721975
Call Gas Limit
==================
9007199254740991
Listening on 127.0.0.1:8545
Every time you run Ganache, it creates a new local blockchain. This means that if you want to maintain an instance, you should keep a window open running Ganache. Alternatively, you can run Ganache with the --db option, providing a directory to store data in between runs.
Let's create a JavaScript migration to deploy our Storage contract.
1) Inside the migrations folder, create a file called 2_deploy_storage.js.
2) Add the code below:
// Some codeconst Storage = artifacts.require('Storage');
module.exports = async function (deployer) {
await deployer.deploy(Storage);
};
Configure connection to ganache
1) Set up a development network for localhost and port 8545 - which is what our local blockchain is using.
2) Open truffle.config.js and toggle the comments off for the following settings:
// truffle-config.js
module.exports = {
...
networks: {
...
development: {
host: "127.0.0.1", // Localhost (default: none)
port: 8545, // Standard Ethereum port (default: none)
network_id: "*", // Any network (default: none)
},
...
3) Deploy the Storage contract to the development network using the migrate command.
npx truffle migrate --network development
You should get a response similar to below:
// Some codeCompiling your contracts...
===========================
> Everything is up to date, there is nothing to compile.
Starting migrations...
======================
> Network name: 'development'
> Network id: 1651588514857
> Block gas limit: 6721975 (0x6691b7)
2_deploy_storage.js
===================
Deploying 'Storage'
-------------------
> transaction hash: 0xd87e16319b5e9bdce7a4c6ccc1df60a54aec263866347a63ae08d252b7cdb7f6
> Blocks: 0 Seconds: 0
> contract address: 0xCfEB869F69431e42cdB54A4F4f105C19C080A601
> block number: 3
> block timestamp: 1651598421
> account: 0x90F8bf6A479f320ead074411a4B0e7944Ea8c9C1
> balance: 99.99165912
> gas used: 125677 (0x1eaed)
> gas price: 20 gwei
> value sent: 0 ETH
> total cost: 0.00251354 ETH
> Saving migration to chain.
> Saving artifacts
-------------------------------------
> Total cost: 0.00251354 ETH
Summary
=======
> Total deployments: 2
> Final cost: 0.00749062 ETH