Skip to main content

Hello World Part 1 - Smart Contract Basics

In this quickstart guide, you'll interact with your first smart contract on the Flow Testnet. Testnet is a public instance of the Flow blockchain designed for experimentation, where you can deploy and invoke smart contracts without incurring any real-world costs.

Smart contracts on Flow are permanent pieces of code that live on the blockchain. They allow you to encode business logic, define digital assets, manage user interactions, and much more. By leveraging smart contracts, you can create decentralized applications (dApps) that are transparent, secure, and open to anyone.

Flow supports modern smart contracts written in Cadence, a resource-oriented programming language designed specifically for smart contracts. Cadence focuses on safety and security, making it easier to write robust contracts. Flow also supports traditional EVM-compatible smart contracts written in Solidity, allowing developers to port their existing Ethereum contracts to Flow. In this guide, we'll focus on interacting with Cadence smart contracts.

Objectives​

After completing this guide, you'll be able to:

  • Read a public variable on a Cadence smart contract deployed on Flow.
  • Understand how to interact with contracts on Flow's testnet.
  • Retrieve and display data from a deployed smart contract via scripts.

In later steps, you'll learn how to:

  • Create a Flow project using the Flow CLI.
  • Add an already-deployed contract to your project with the Dependency Manager.
  • Deploy a smart contract locally to the Flow Emulator.
  • Write and execute transactions to interact with a deployed smart contract.
  • Display data from a Cadence smart contract on a React frontend using the Flow Client Library.

Calling a Contract With a Script​

The HelloWorld contract exposes a public variable named greeting that is accessible to everything outside the contract. We can retrieve its value using a simple script written in the Cadence programming language. Scripts in Cadence are read-only operations that allow you to query data from the blockchain without changing any state.

Here's the script:


_10
import HelloWorld from 0xa1296b1e2e90ca5b
_10
_10
access(all) fun main(): String {
_10
return HelloWorld.greeting
_10
}

Let's break down what this script does:

  • Import Statement: import HelloWorld from 0xa1296b1e2e90ca5b tells the script to use the HelloWorld contract deployed at the address 0xa1296b1e2e90ca5b on the testnet.
  • Main Function: access(all) fun main(): String defines the entry point of the script, which returns a String.
  • Return Statement: return HelloWorld.greeting accesses the greeting variable from the HelloWorld contract and returns its value.

Steps to Execute the Script​

  • Open the Flow Runner: Click the icon to orient the Flow Runner editor vertically. The Flow Runner is an online tool that allows you to write and execute Cadence scripts directly in your browser.
  • Copy the Script: Copy the script above into the Flow Runner's input area.
  • Run the Script: Click the Run button to execute the script.
  • View the Output: Observe the output returned by the script. You should see the current value of the greeting variable, which is "Hello, World!".

Understanding the HelloWorld Contract​

To fully grasp how the script works, it's important to understand the structure of the HelloWorld contract. Below is the source code for the contract:


_12
access(all) contract HelloWorld {
_12
_12
access(all) var greeting: String
_12
_12
access(account) fun changeGreeting(newGreeting: String) {
_12
self.greeting = newGreeting
_12
}
_12
_12
init() {
_12
self.greeting = "Hello, World!"
_12
}
_12
}

Certainly! Here's the text formatted in Markdown for you to copy and paste:

Breakdown of the Contract​

  • Contract Declaration: access(all) contract HelloWorld declares a new contract named HelloWorld that is accessible to everyone.
  • State Variable: access(all) var greeting: String declares a public variable greeting of type String. The access(all) modifier means that this variable can be read by anyone.
  • Function to Change Greeting: access(account) fun changeGreeting(newGreeting: String) defines a function that allows changing the value of greeting. The access(account) modifier restricts this function so that only the account that deployed the contract (the owner) can call it.
  • Initializer: The init() function is called when the contract is deployed. It sets the initial value of greeting to "Hello, World!".

Key Points​

  • Public Access: The greeting variable is public, allowing anyone to read its value without any restrictions.
  • Restricted Modification: Only the contract owner can modify the greeting variable using the changeGreeting function. This ensures that unauthorized accounts cannot change the contract's state.
  • No Read Costs: Reading data from the blockchain is free on Flow. Executing scripts like the one you ran does not incur any costs.

What's Next?​

In the upcoming tutorials, you'll learn how to:

  • Modify the Greeting: Invoke the changeGreeting function to update the greeting value.
  • Deploy Contracts: Use the Flow CLI to deploy your own smart contracts.
  • Interact with Contracts Locally: Use the Flow Emulator to test contracts in a local development environment.
  • Build Frontend Applications: Display data from smart contracts in a React application using the Flow Client Library.

By understanding the HelloWorld contract and how to interact with it, you're building a solid foundation for developing more complex applications on the Flow blockchain.

Proceed to the next tutorial to learn how to create your own contracts and deploy them live using the Flow CLI.