Smart Contract Lifecycle Manager Simulation Mode
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing blockchain-based smart contract systems lack efficient mechanisms for managing the lifecycle of smart contracts, particularly after their expiration, as they cannot access data stored on the blockchain once the contract has expired, and there is no way to prevent updating the blockchain with invalid transaction results during simulation mode.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a smart contract lifecycle manager and configurator that allows for status control based on expiration time and storage period, enabling simulation mode to access data without updating the blockchain and automatically stopping the contract, while preventing invalid updates by using an invalid flag or skipping the consensus process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If a smart contract is executed after expiration, then data can be accessed, but the blockchain is updated with invalid transaction results
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by setting the simulation indicator before contract expiration and automatically stopping the contract at expiration. This preliminary configuration enables data access while preventing invalid updates, as the simulation indicator is already in place to block blockchain writes before they can occur
Solution Approach 2:
The simulation indicator acts as an intermediary mechanism between data access requests and blockchain updates. When the simulation indicator is set, it mediates by allowing read operations to access historical data while simultaneously blocking write operations that would update the blockchain with invalid results
2Reliability
If the smart contract is automatically stopped at expiration, then blockchain integrity is maintained, but data access is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by setting the simulation indicator before contract expiration. This enables the contract to be automatically stopped at expiration while preserving data access capability, as the simulation indicator is already configured to allow reads while blocking writes
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically changes the contract state by setting the simulation indicator, which transforms the contract from a fully operational state to a simulation-only state. This dynamic transition allows the contract to maintain data access functionality while preventing blockchain updates, resolving the contradiction between integrity and accessibility
3Loss of information
If the simulation indicator is set before expiration, then data access is enabled, but the contract may continue executing valid transactions
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by setting the simulation indicator before expiration to enable data access. The automatic stopping mechanism ensures that even if the indicator is set early, the contract will be halted at expiration, preventing any valid transaction execution after the intended end date
Solution Approach 2:
The automatic stopping mechanism provides feedback control by monitoring the contract expiration status and automatically halting execution when expiration is detected. This feedback loop ensures that setting the simulation indicator early does not result in continued valid transactions, as the system continuously monitors and responds to expiration conditions
Data Source
AI summary
In some examples, a first node is able to communicate with one or more second nodes for participating in a consensus system. The first node may receive, from a computing device, a request to execute a first smart contract associated with a first blockchain. The first node may invoke execution of the first smart contract to cause the first smart contract to execute a transaction by reading at least a portion of transaction data from the first blockchain as a transaction result. Further, the first node may check whether a simulation indicator has been set, which indicates that an expiration time of the first smart contract has been reached. Based on determining that the first smart contract has the simulation indicator set, the first node refrains from writing the transaction result to the blockchain as a valid transaction result and sends the transaction result to the computing device.