.. highlight:: kotlin
.. raw:: html
API: Contracts
==============
.. note:: Before reading this page, you should be familiar with the key concepts of :doc:`key-concepts-contracts`.
.. contents::
Contract
--------
Contracts are classes that implement the ``Contract`` interface. The ``Contract`` interface is defined as follows:
.. container:: codeset
.. literalinclude:: ../../core/src/main/kotlin/net/corda/core/contracts/Structures.kt
:language: kotlin
:start-after: DOCSTART 5
:end-before: DOCEND 5
``Contract`` has a single method, ``verify``, which takes a ``LedgerTransaction`` as input and returns
nothing. This function is used to check whether a transaction proposal is valid, as follows:
* We gather together the contracts of each of the transaction's input and output states
* We call each contract's ``verify`` function, passing in the transaction as an input
* The proposal is only valid if none of the ``verify`` calls throw an exception
``verify`` is executed in a sandbox:
* It does not have access to the enclosing scope
* The libraries available to it are whitelisted to disallow:
* Network access
* I/O such as disk or database access
* Sources of randomness such as the current time or random number generators
This means that ``verify`` only has access to the properties defined on ``LedgerTransaction`` when deciding whether a
transaction is valid.
Here are the two simplest ``verify`` functions:
* A ``verify`` that **accepts** all possible transactions:
.. container:: codeset
.. sourcecode:: kotlin
override fun verify(tx: LedgerTransaction) {
// Always accepts!
}
.. sourcecode:: java
@Override
public void verify(LedgerTransaction tx) {
// Always accepts!
}
* A ``verify`` that **rejects** all possible transactions:
.. container:: codeset
.. sourcecode:: kotlin
override fun verify(tx: LedgerTransaction) {
throw IllegalArgumentException("Always rejects!")
}
.. sourcecode:: java
@Override
public void verify(LedgerTransaction tx) {
throw new IllegalArgumentException("Always rejects!");
}
LedgerTransaction
-----------------
The ``LedgerTransaction`` object passed into ``verify`` has the following properties:
.. container:: codeset
.. literalinclude:: ../../core/src/main/kotlin/net/corda/core/transactions/LedgerTransaction.kt
:language: kotlin
:start-after: DOCSTART 1
:end-before: DOCEND 1
Where:
* ``inputs`` are the transaction's inputs as ``List>``
* ``outputs`` are the transaction's outputs as ``List>``
* ``commands`` are the transaction's commands and associated signers, as ``List>``
* ``attachments`` are the transaction's attachments as ``List``
* ``notary`` is the transaction's notary. This must match the notary of all the inputs
* ``timeWindow`` defines the window during which the transaction can be notarised
``LedgerTransaction`` exposes a large number of utility methods to access the transaction's contents:
* ``inputStates`` extracts the input ``ContractState`` objects from the list of ``StateAndRef``
* ``getInput``/``getOutput``/``getCommand``/``getAttachment`` extracts a component by index
* ``getAttachment`` extracts an attachment by ID
* ``inputsOfType``/``inRefsOfType``/``outputsOfType``/``outRefsOfType``/``commandsOfType`` extracts components based on
their generic type
* ``filterInputs``/``filterInRefs``/``filterOutputs``/``filterOutRefs``/``filterCommands`` extracts components based on
a predicate
* ``findInput``/``findInRef``/``findOutput``/``findOutRef``/``findCommand`` extracts the single component that matches
a predicate, or throws an exception if there are multiple matches
requireThat
-----------
``verify`` can be written to manually throw an exception for each constraint:
.. container:: codeset
.. sourcecode:: kotlin
override fun verify(tx: LedgerTransaction) {
if (tx.inputs.size > 0)
throw IllegalArgumentException("No inputs should be consumed when issuing an X.")
if (tx.outputs.size != 1)
throw IllegalArgumentException("Only one output state should be created.")
}
.. sourcecode:: java
public void verify(LedgerTransaction tx) {
if (tx.getInputs().size() > 0)
throw new IllegalArgumentException("No inputs should be consumed when issuing an X.");
if (tx.getOutputs().size() != 1)
throw new IllegalArgumentException("Only one output state should be created.");
}
However, this is verbose. To impose a series of constraints, we can use ``requireThat`` instead:
.. container:: codeset
.. sourcecode:: kotlin
requireThat {
"No inputs should be consumed when issuing an X." using (tx.inputs.isEmpty())
"Only one output state should be created." using (tx.outputs.size == 1)
val out = tx.outputs.single() as XState
"The sender and the recipient cannot be the same entity." using (out.sender != out.recipient)
"All of the participants must be signers." using (command.signers.containsAll(out.participants))
"The X's value must be non-negative." using (out.x.value > 0)
}
.. sourcecode:: java
requireThat(require -> {
require.using("No inputs should be consumed when issuing an X.", tx.getInputs().isEmpty());
require.using("Only one output state should be created.", tx.getOutputs().size() == 1);
final XState out = (XState) tx.getOutputs().get(0);
require.using("The sender and the recipient cannot be the same entity.", out.getSender() != out.getRecipient());
require.using("All of the participants must be signers.", command.getSigners().containsAll(out.getParticipants()));
require.using("The X's value must be non-negative.", out.getX().getValue() > 0);
return null;
});
For each <``String``, ``Boolean``> pair within ``requireThat``, if the boolean condition is false, an
``IllegalArgumentException`` is thrown with the corresponding string as the exception message. In turn, this
exception will cause the transaction to be rejected.
Commands
--------
``LedgerTransaction`` contains the commands as a list of ``CommandWithParties`` instances. ``CommandWithParties`` pairs
a ``CommandData`` with a list of required signers for the transaction:
.. container:: codeset
.. literalinclude:: ../../core/src/main/kotlin/net/corda/core/contracts/Structures.kt
:language: kotlin
:start-after: DOCSTART 6
:end-before: DOCEND 6
Where:
* ``signers`` is the list of each signer's ``PublicKey``
* ``signingParties`` is the list of the signer's identities, if known
* ``value`` is the object being signed (a command, in this case)
Branching verify with commands
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Generally, we will want to impose different constraints on a transaction based on its commands. For example, we will
want to impose different constraints on a cash issuance transaction to on a cash transfer transaction.
We can achieve this by extracting the command and using standard branching logic within ``verify``. Here, we extract
the single command of type ``XContract.Commands`` from the transaction, and branch ``verify`` accordingly:
.. container:: codeset
.. sourcecode:: kotlin
class XContract : Contract {
interface Commands : CommandData {
class Issue : TypeOnlyCommandData(), Commands
class Transfer : TypeOnlyCommandData(), Commands
}
override fun verify(tx: LedgerTransaction) {
val command = tx.findCommand { true }
when (command.value) {
is Commands.Issue -> {
// Issuance verification logic.
}
is Commands.Transfer -> {
// Transfer verification logic.
}
}
}
}
.. sourcecode:: java
public class XContract implements Contract {
public interface Commands extends CommandData {
class Issue extends TypeOnlyCommandData implements Commands {}
class Transfer extends TypeOnlyCommandData implements Commands {}
}
@Override
public void verify(LedgerTransaction tx) {
final Commands command = tx.findCommand(Commands.class, cmd -> true).getValue();
if (command instanceof Commands.Issue) {
// Issuance verification logic.
} else if (command instanceof Commands.Transfer) {
// Transfer verification logic.
}
}
}