This is a selection of software design patterns developed by core Flow developers while writing Cadence code for deployment to Flow Mainnet.
Many of these design patters apply to most other programming languages, but some are specific to Cadence.
Design patterns are building blocks for software development. They may provide a solution to a problem that you encounter when writing smart contracts in Cadence. If they do not clearly fit, these patterns may not be the right solution for a given situation or problem. They are not meant to be rules to be followed strictly, especially where a better solution presents itself.
General
These are general patterns to follow when writing smart contracts.
Use named value fields for constants instead of hard-coding
Problem
Your contracts, resources, and scripts all have to refer to the same value. A number, a string, a storage path, etc. Entering these values manually in transactions and scripts is a potential source of error. See Wikipedia’s page on magic numbers
Solution
Add a public (access(all)), constant (let) field, e.g. a Path , to the contract responsible for the value,
and set it in the contract’s initializer.
Refer to that value via this public field rather than specifying it manually.
Example Snippet:
// BAD Practice: Do not hard code storage paths
access(all)
contract NamedFields {
access(all)
resource Test {}
init() {
// BAD: Hard-coded storage path
self.account.storage.save(<-create Test(), to: /storage/testStorage)
}
}
// GOOD practice: Instead, use a field
//
access(all)
contract NamedFields {
access(all)
resource Test {}
// GOOD: field storage path
access(all)
let testStoragePath: StoragePath
init() {
// assign and access the field here and in transactions
self.testStoragePath = /storage/testStorage
self.account.storage.save(<-create Test(), to: self.TestStoragePath)
}
}
Script-Accessible public field/function
Data availability is important in a blockchain environment. It is useful to publicize information about your smart contract and the assets it controls so other smart contracts and apps can easily query it.
Problem
Your contract, resource, or struct has a field or resource that will need to be read and used on or off-chain, often in bulk.
Solution
Make sure that the field can be accessed from a script.
This saves the time and fees required to read a property using a transaction.
Making the field or function access(all) and exposing it via a /public/ capability will allow this.
Be careful not to expose any data or functionality that should be kept private when doing so.
Example:
// BAD: Field is private, so it cannot be read by the public
access(self)
let totalSupply: UFix64
// GOOD: Field is public, so it can be read and used by anyone
access(all)
let totalSupply: UFix64Script-Accessible report
Problem
Your contract has a resource that you wish to access fields of. Resources are often stored in private places and are hard to access. Additionally, scripts cannot return resources to the external context, so a struct must be used to hold the data.
Solution
Return a reference to a resource if the data from a single resource is all that is needed. Otherwise, declare a struct to hold the data that you wish to return from the script. Write a function that fills out the fields of this struct with the data from the resource that you wish to access. Then call this on the resource that you wish to access the fields of in a script, and return the struct from the script.
See Script-Accessible public field/function, above, for how best to expose this capability.
Example
access(all)
contract AContract {
access(all)
let BResourceStoragePath: StoragePath
access(all)
let BResourcePublicPath: PublicPath
init() {
self.BResourceStoragePath = /storage/BResource
self.BResourcePublicPath = /public/BResource
}
// Resource definition
access(all)
resource BResource {
access(all)
var c: UInt64
access(all)
var d: String
// Generate a struct with the same fields
// to return when a script wants to see the fields of the resource
// without having to return the actual resource
access(all)
fun generateReport(): BReportStruct {
return BReportStruct(c: self.c, d: self.d)
}
init(c: UInt64, d: String) {
self.c = c
self.d = d
}
}
// Define a struct with the same fields as the resource
access(all)
struct BReportStruct {
access(all)
var c: UInt64
access(all)
var d: String
init(c: UInt64, d: String) {
self.c = c
self.d = d
}
}
}
...
// Transaction
import AContract from 0xAContract
transaction {
prepare(acct: auth(IssueStorageCapabilityController, PublishCapability) &Account) {
//...
let cap = acct.capabilities.storage.issue<&AContract.BResource>(AContract.BResourceStoragePath)
acct.capabilities.publish(cap, at: AContract.BResourcePublicPath)
}
}
// Script
import AContract from 0xAContract
// Return the struct with a script
access(all)
fun main(account: Address): AContract.BReportStruct {
// borrow the resource
let b = getAccount(account).capabilities
.borrow<&AContract.BResource>(AContract.BResourcePublicPath)
// return the struct
return b.generateReport()
}Init singleton
Problem
An admin resource must be created and delivered to a specified account. There should not be a function to do this, as that would allow anyone to create an admin resource.
Solution
Create any one-off resources in the contract’s initializer
and deliver them to an address or &Account specified as an argument.
See how this is done in the LockedTokens contract initializer:
and in the transaction that is used to deploy it:
Use descriptive names for fields, paths, functions and variables
Problem
Smart contracts often are vitally important pieces of a project and often have many other smart contracts and applications that rely on them. Therefore, they need to be clearly written and easy to understand.
Solution
All fields, functions, types, variables, etc., need to have names that clearly describe what they are used for.
account / accounts is better than array / element.
providerAccount / tokenRecipientAccount is better than acct1 / acct2.
/storage/bestPracticesDocsCollectionPath is better than /storage/collection
Example
// BAD: Unclear naming
//
access(all)
contract Tax {
// Do not use abbreviations unless absolutely necessary
access(all)
var pcnt: UFix64
// Not clear what the function is calculating or what the parameter should be
access(all)
fun calculate(num: UFix64): UFix64 {
// What total is this referring to?
let total = num + (num * self.pcnt)
return total
}
}
// GOOD: Clear naming
//
access(all)
contract TaxUtilities {
// Clearly states what the field is for
access(all)
var taxPercentage: UFix64
// Clearly states that this function calculates the
// total cost after tax
access(all)
fun calculateTotalCostPlusTax(preTaxCost: UFix64): UFix64 {
let postTaxCost = preTaxCost + (preTaxCost * self.taxPercentage)
return postTaxCost
}
}Plural names for arrays and maps are preferable
For example, use accounts rather than account for an array of accounts.
This signals that the field or variable is not scalar. It also makes it easier to use the singular form for a variable name during iteration.
Use transaction post-conditions when applicable
Problem
Transactions can contain any amount of valid Cadence code and access many contracts and accounts. The power of resources and capabilities means that there may be some behaviors of programs that are not expected.
Solution
It is usually safe to include post-conditions in transactions to verify the intended outcome.
Example
This could be used when purchasing an NFT to verify that the NFT was deposited in your account’s collection.
// Pseudo-code
transaction {
access(all)
let buyerCollectionRef: &NonFungibleToken.Collection
prepare(acct: auth(BorrowValue) &Account) {
// Get tokens to buy and a collection to deposit the bought NFT to
let temporaryVault <- vaultRef.withdraw(amount: 10.0)
let self.buyerCollectionRef = acct.storage.borrow(from: /storage/Collection)
// purchase, supplying the buyers collection reference
saleRef.purchase(tokenID: 1, recipient: self.buyerCollectionRef, buyTokens: <-temporaryVault)
}
post {
// verify that the buyer now owns the NFT
self.buyerCollectionRef.idExists(1) == true: "Bought NFT ID was not deposited into the buyers collection"
}
}Avoid unnecessary load and save storage operations, prefer in-place mutations
Problem
When modifying data in account storage, load() and save() are costly operations:
All data is unnecessarily moved out of the account, then moved back into the account.
This can quickly cause your transaction to reach its limits.
This also applies to nested, stored in fields, arrays, and dictionaries: Moving objects out of containers and moving them back into the container, just to modify the object, is just as costly.
For example, a collection contains a dictionary of NFTs. There is no need to move the whole dictionary out of the field, update the dictionary on the stack (e.g., adding or removing an NFT), and then move the whole dictionary back to the field: the dictionary can be updated in-place, which is easier and more efficient. The same goes for a more complex data structure like a dictionary of nested resources: Each resource can be updated in-place by taking a reference to the nested object instead of loading and saving.
Solution
For making modifications to values in storage or accessing stored objects,
borrow() should always be used to access them instead of load or save unless absolutely necessary.
borrow() returns a reference to the object at the storage path instead of having to load the entire object.
This reference can be assigned to or can be used to access fields or call methods on stored objects.
Fields and value in containers, such as in arrays and dictionaries,
can be borrowed using a reference expression (&v as &T).
Example
// BAD: Loads and stores a resource to use it
//
transaction {
prepare(acct: auth(LoadValue, SaveValue) &Account) {
// Removes the vault from storage, a costly operation
let vault <- acct.storage.load<@ExampleToken.Vault>(from: /storage/exampleToken)
// Withdraws tokens
let burnVault <- vault.withdraw(amount: 10)
destroy burnVault
// Saves the used vault back to storage, another costly operation
acct.storage.save(to: /storage/exampleToken)
}
}
// GOOD: Uses borrow instead to avoid costly operations
//
transaction {
prepare(acct: auth(BorrowValue) &Account) {
// Borrows a reference to the stored vault, much less costly operation
let vault <- acct.storage.borrow<&ExampleToken.Vault>(from: /storage/exampleToken)
let burnVault <- vault.withdraw(amount: 10)
destroy burnVault
// No `save` required because we only used a reference
}
}Capabilities
Capability bootstrapping
Problem
An account must be given a capability to an object stored in another account. To create (issue) the capability, the transaction must be signed by a key which has access to the target account.
To transfer / deliver the capability to the other account, the transaction also needs write access to that one. It is not as easy to produce a single transaction which is authorized by two accounts as it is to produce a typical transaction which is authorized by one account.
This prevents a single transaction from fetching the capability from one account and delivering it to the other.
Solution
The solution to the bootstrapping problem in Cadence is provided by the Inbox API.
Account A (which we will call the provider) creates the capability they wish to send to account B
(which we will call the recipient),
and stores this capability on their account in a place where the recipient can access it
using the Inbox.publish function on their account.
They choose a name for the capability that the recipient can later use to identify it,
and specify the recipient’s address when calling publish.
This call to publish will emit an InboxValuePublished event
that the recipient can listen for off-chain to know that the Capability is ready for them to claim.
The recipient then later can use the Inbox.claim function to securely claim the capability
from the provider’s account.
They must provide the name and type with which the capability was published,
as well as the address of the provider’s account
(all of this information is available in the InboxValuePublished event emitted on publish).
This will remove the capability from the provider’s account and emit an InboxValueClaimed event
that the provider can listen for off-chain.
One important caveat to this is that the published capability is stored on the provider’s account
until the recipient claims it,
so the provider can also use the Inbox.unpublish function to remove the capability from their account
if they no longer wish to pay for storage for it.
This also requires the name and type which the capability was published,
and emits an InboxValueUnpublished event that the recipient can listen for off-chain.
It is also important to note that the recipient becomes the owner of the capability object once they have claimed it, and can thus store it or copy it anywhere they have access to. This means providers should only publish capabilities to recipients they trust to use them properly, or limit the type with which the capability is authorized in order to only give recipients access to the functionality that the provider is willing to allow them to copy.
import "BasicNFT"
transaction(receiver: Address, name: String) {
prepare(signer: auth(IssueStorageCapabilityController, PublishInboxCapability) &Account) {
// Issue a capability controller for the storage path
let capability = signer.capabilities.storage.issue<&BasicNFT.Minter>(BasicNFT.minterPath)
// Set the name as tag so it is easy for us to remember its purpose
let controller = signer.capabilities.storage.getController(byCapabilityID: capability.id)
?? panic("Cannot get the storage capability controller with ID "
.concat(capabilityID.toString())
.concat(" from the signer's account! Make sure the ID belongs to a capability that the owner controls and that it is a storage capability.")
controller.setTag(name)
// Publish the capability, so it can be later claimed by the receiver
signer.inbox.publish(capability, name: name, recipient: receiver)
}
}import "BasicNFT"
transaction(provider: Address, name: String) {
prepare(signer: auth(ClaimInboxCapability, SaveValue) &Account) {
// Claim the capability from our inbox
let capability = signer.inbox.claim<&BasicNFT.Minter>(name, provider: provider)
?? panic("Cannot claim the storage capability controller with name "
.concat(name).concat(" from the provider account (").concat(provider.toString())
.concat("! Make sure the provider address is correct and that they have published "
.concat(" a capability with the desired name.")
// Save the capability to our storage so we can later retrieve and use it
signer.storage.save(capability, to: BasicNFT.minterPath)
}
}Check for existing capability before publishing new one
Problem
When publishing a capability, a capability might be already be published at the specified path.
Solution
Check if a capability is already published at the given path.
Example
transaction {
prepare(signer: auth(Capabilities) &Account) {
let capability = signer.capabilities.storage
.issue<&ExampleToken.Vault>(/storage/exampleTokenVault)
let publicPath = /public/exampleTokenReceiver
if signer.capabilities.exits(publicPath) {
signer.capabilities.unpublish(publicPath)
}
signer.capabilities.publish(capability, at: publicPath)
}
}Capability Revocation
Problem
A capability provided by one account to a second account must able to be revoked by the first account without the co-operation of the second.
Solution
If the capability is a storage capability:
transaction(capabilityID: UInt64) {
prepare(signer: auth(StorageCapabilities) &Account) {
let controller = signer.capabilities.storage
.getController(byCapabilityID: capabilityID)
?? panic("Cannot get the storage capability controller with ID "
.concat(capabilityID.toString())
.concat(" from the signer's account! Make sure the ID belongs to a capability that the owner controls and that it is a storage capability.")
controller.delete()
}
}If the capability is an account capability:
transaction(capabilityID: UInt64) {
prepare(signer: auth(AccountCapabilities) &Account) {
let controller = signer.capabilities.account
.getController(byCapabilityID: capabilityID)
?? panic("Cannot get the account capability controller with ID "
.concat(capabilityID.toString())
.concat(" from the signer's account! Make sure the ID belongs to a capability that the owner controls and that it is an account capability.")
controller.delete()
}
}