Smart contract development, more so than most web2 development, requires thorough testing and careful deployment. Because smart contracts are immutable and often involve large sums of money, it’s very important to do all you can to be sure they are secure, reliable, and as free from bugs as possible. Two important tools for achieving these goals are the same tools most web3 devs use for their day-to-day work— and . Truffle Infura These tools give you what you need to write, test, debug, and deploy your smart contracts. In this article, we’ll walk you through a step-by-step guide on how Truffle and Infura can be utilized to debug and deploy smart contracts on Ethereum. We’ll begin by establishing a development environment and creating a basic smart contract using Solidity. Next, we’ll conduct debugging of the contract, followed by deployment using Infura, and ultimately debugging on the blockchain. Finally, we will provide some recommendations for writing resilient and secure smart contracts. Let's get started! Setting Up the Development Environment Our first step is to establish a basic smart contract development setup using Truffle and Infura. However, it is important to note that this is not a comprehensive guide for setting up the environment, as there are already numerous tutorials available for this purpose. If you need a little background on smart contracts, blockchain, Ethereum, etc., then check out my previous article: Learn To Become a Web3 Developer by Exploring the Web3 Stack. Prerequisites : Make sure you have Node.js installed on your system. You can download and install the latest version from the official . Node.js website : is a suite of development tools for smart contract development. It gives you the tools you need to manage your workflow, test, deploy, run local blockchains, and more. Truffle Truffle You can install it globally using npm, the Node.js package manager. Run the following command in your terminal: : is a set of blockchain APIs that provides a simple and reliable way to connect to the Ethereum (and others)  network without running a full node. It’s the industry standard way to access blockchains etc. Infura Infura You'll need to create an on the Infura website and obtain an API key to use their services. account Configuring Truffle Once you've installed Node.js and Truffle, you're ready to create a new Truffle project. Simply run the following command in your terminal to create a new project: This command will create a basic Truffle project with everything you need to get started on a new project. The folder is where we'll write our smart contract, while the folder is where we'll write migration scripts to deploy our contract to the blockchain. contracts/ migrations/ Next, we need to configure Truffle to use our local blockchain simulator. Open the truffle-config.js file, and modify the development network to point to . Ganache Ganache allows you to fire up a personal instance of Ethereum for local development and testing. Here's an example configuration: ule.exports = { }
  }
}; mod networks : { development : { host : "127.0.0.1" , port : 8545 , network_id : "*" Debugging Smart Contracts Locally Now that we have set up the development environment, let's start by writing a simple Ethereum smart contract using Solidity. Smart contract development is a big topic! For an intro, . For the purpose of this tutorial, we’ll keep it super simple and create a contract that simply allows users to store and retrieve a string value. check out this 10-minute orientation contract SimpleStorage {
    string private value; value = _value;
    } }
} // SimpleStorage.sol pragma solidity ^ 0.8 .0 ; function setValue ( string memory _value ) public { function getValue ( ) public view returns ( string memory ) { return value; Save the source code above into a file named . SimpleStorage.sol The Truffle Debugger offers two ways to work with this code in your local environment. These are in-test debugging and read-only debugging calls. works within tests and is quite simple. You just wrap the line of interest in a debug statement like this. In-test debugging }); it( "should get latest result" , async function ( ) { const result = await debug( SimpleStorage.getValue() ); When you run your tests, add a debug flag, and see the magic happen. This will pause the tests at the designated debug line, and then launch the debugger's CLI interface, which allows you to step through code, inspect variables, and set breakpoints. Another way to access the Truffle Debugger is through . This method is preferred by many developers because it uses a transaction hash to access the debugger. read-only debugging calls With read-only debugging, developers can debug a transaction that has already been executed on the blockchain, making it a more practical method for debugging. This will open the Truffle Debugger in the terminal, and then allow you to step. For an exhaustive list of options available in debug mode, check out the . documentation Deploying Smart Contracts With Infura Once you've written and tested your smart contract locally, it's time to deploy it. While it’s possible to deploy a contract using your own node, this can be time-consuming and resource-intensive. An alternative approach is to use a remote node like Infura. Infura is a node provider that gives you a simple and reliable way to deploy smart contracts to various layer 1 blockchain networks. To use Infura for contract deployment, you'll need to sign up for an account and create a new project (which you probably did above). Once you've done that, you'll be able to access your project's API endpoint, which you'll need to use to interact with the blockchain network. This offers a step-by-step guide if you need help with this. tutorial To deploy our smart contract to the Ethereum network, we'll need to connect to Infura using our API key. Open the file again, and add the following configuration for the network. (Replace <PROJECT_ID> with your Infura project ID.): truffle-config.js Sepolia }, }
  }
}; const HDWalletProvider = require ( "@truffle/hdwallet-provider" ); const infuraProjectId = "<PROJECT_ID>" ; const mnemonic = "your mnemonic goes here" ; module .exports = { networks : { development : { // ... sepolia : { provider : () => new HDWalletProvider(mnemonic, `https://sepolia.infura.io/v3/ ${infuraProjectId} ` ), network_id : 11155111 , gas : 4000000 Note that we're using the package to connect to Infura with our mnemonic. You can replace Sepolia with the name of the Ethereum network you want to deploy to. @truffle/hdwallet-provider truffle migrate --network sepolia We’re using a Ethereum network here because there is a cost (gas fee) associated with deploying smart contracts. To pay this fee, you need ETH. test On the Ethereum mainnet, you have to buy ETH—and the expenses can add up quickly. But on the test networks, where you can get test ETH for free. there are faucets Debugging Online Smart Contracts While debugging smart contracts locally will be the most common task, there may be occasions when you need to debug a contract that has already been deployed for some reason. Fortunately, the Truffle Debugger can accommodate this scenario as well. The added benefit is that it doesn't necessarily have to be your own contract as long as it has been verified on the blockchain. To debug a smart contract on a deployed chain, you can use the Truffle Debugger and Infura just as you did for local debugging. The only difference is that you'll need to specify the network to connect to. Here's an example of how to do it: In this example, we're connecting to the testnet using the --network flag and specifying the transaction hash of the contract we want to debug. Sepolia Once connected, you can use the same debugging techniques as you did for local debugging, such as stepping through code, inspecting variables, and setting breakpoints. Just keep in mind that network conditions may be different than your local machine, so be sure to thoroughly test your smart contract before deploying to an online chain. If you are still not feeling confident enough, you can take a look at this nice video . tutorial Best Practices for Testing and Deployment As you continue to develop and deploy smart contracts, here are some basic best practices to ensure your code is reliable and secure. Most of these are best practices for any type of coding—so be sure to keep them in mind: : Before deploying your smart contracts, . Use the Truffle Debugger to debug your code locally (and on a deployed chain if necessary) to make sure it behaves as intended. Smart contracts on Ethereum are immutable. Be careful with production deployments. Test your smart contracts extensively before deploying them make sure you test them thoroughly to catch any bugs or errors : Give your variables meaningful names so that it's easier to debug your code. Avoid using abbreviations and acronyms unless they are widely understood. Use meaningful variable names e: Like with all code, add comments to explain what it does and why it's necessary! This will help you and other developers understand the code and make changes to it later. Comment your cod : Complex smart contracts can be difficult to test and debug. Whenever possible, break your contracts into smaller, more manageable pieces. Keep your contracts simple : Make sure you optimize your code to reduce gas costs and keep them as low as possible. Gas prices can drive up your expenses quickly. Consider gas costs : Make sure you keep your dependencies up to date to avoid any security vulnerabilities. Use tools like Truffle's truffle-verify plugin to verify your smart contracts and ensure they are secure. Keep your dependencies up to date To dive in further, check out these best practices more specific to smart contracts Conclusion We explored the benefits of using the Truffle Debugger and Infura in tandem to enhance the security and reliability of smart contracts. We have also seen how to deploy smart contracts on an EVM-based network using Infura, and then how to debug them on a deployed chain. This is just the beginning! Once you are familiar with these tools, you’re ready to start exploring smart contracts and blockchain development. Have fun! First published here Photo by Fotis Fotopoulos on Unsplash

I write about technology michael.bogan@gmail.com

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How to Debug and Deploy Smart Contracts With Infura: A Step-by-Step Guide

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