Ethereum: Better error messages for non-contractual actions

Ethereum: Better Error Messages for Non-Contract Actions

As a decentralized computing platform for smart contracts and applications built on Ethereum, the reliability and usability of these contracts heavily rely on accurate and informative error messages. However, when it comes to non-contract actions, such as external program calls or system interactions, getting better error messages can be a significant challenge.

Current Status

Currently, most error messages for non-contract actions are generic and lack context. For example, an error message of “invalid argument” without providing any information about what the invalid argument is, how it was introduced, or why it caused the problem. This lack of transparency can make debugging and troubleshooting difficult.

The Problem with Generic Error Messages

There are several reasons why generic error messages are not suitable for out-of-contract activities:

• Lack of Context: Without more information, it is difficult to understand what went wrong.

• Limited Debugging Capabilities: Debugging tools often struggle to provide meaningful information without more context.

• Increased Complexity

  : More complex errors can be harder to identify and debug.

Improving Error Messages for Out-of-Contract Actions

There are several approaches that can be used to address these issues:

• Use Contract-Specific Error Types: Define custom error types within contracts that are specific to out-of-contract activities. This way, developers who know their codebase will receive more targeted errors.

• Provide detailed information in error messages: Include additional context and details about what went wrong with the action. For example, an “invalid argument” message could be followed by a description of why it was invalid (e.g., “argument is not a valid token value”).

• Use logging mechanisms: Leverage logging mechanisms to collect and analyze errors from non-contractual actions. This can help identify patterns and issues that might otherwise go unnoticed.

• Implement debugging tools: Develop or integrate debugging tools that provide more comprehensive insight into non-contractual actions, such as trace functions or displaying call stack information.

Best practices for error messages

To get better error messages for non-contractual actions:

• Be concise: Use clear and concise language to minimize the amount of information needed to diagnose problems.

• Provide context: Offer enough context to understand what went wrong with the action, even if the error message itself doesn’t reveal much.

• Be consistent

  

  : Create a consistent error message format across contracts and systems.

Conclusion

Improving error messages for non-contract actions is key to ensuring the reliability and usability of decentralized applications. By using contract-specific error types, providing detailed information in error messages, leveraging logging mechanisms, implementing debugging tools, and following best practices, developers can create more informative and usable error messages that help troubleshoot issues more effectively.