Smart Contract Version Indexing for Blockchain Upgrades
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing smart contract systems lack efficient methods for upgrading and managing different versions of smart contracts on a blockchain network, leading to inefficiencies and increased development costs.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus for generating and associating version number and contract index values with smart contracts, allowing for efficient publishing and calling of smart contracts on a blockchain network, thereby enabling seamless version management and reducing development costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If smart contract upgrade functions are developed manually, then contract functionality can be improved, but development costs increase and security may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal contract index management mechanism that handles both initial contract deployment and upgrade operations through the same framework. The contract index structure universally manages version information, enabling the system to perform multiple functions (deployment, version tracking, upgrade) without requiring separate specialized mechanisms for each operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service contract upgrades by automatically generating contract indexes with version information and managing the upgrade process through predefined rules. The blockchain network autonomously handles contract versioning and selection based on the contract index, eliminating the need for manual intervention in the upgrade process and reducing development complexity.
2Productivity
If traditional contract management methods are used, then implementation is simple, but query efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-generating and storing contract indexes with version information at the time of contract deployment or upgrade. This advance preparation of indexed data structures enables efficient querying without requiring complex real-time analysis, as the blockchain network can directly retrieve relevant contract versions using the pre-computed indexes.
3Reliability
If version control is implemented at the contract level, then security is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing contract management into distinct versioned units through the contract index structure. Each contract version is independently tracked and managed through its own index entry, allowing the system to maintain multiple versions with different security properties and enabling selective activation of specific versions without managing the entire contract as a single complex entity.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for publishing a smart contract includes: generating a version number index value according to a contract name of the smart contract, and searching for an associated target contract version number from a blockchain network according to the version number index value; generating a contract index value according to a contract version number of the smart contract and the contract name, in response to determining that the contract version number of the smart contract is greater than the target contract version number; associating the contract index value with the smart contract and associating the version number index value with the contract version number of the smart contract, to generate transaction information; and publishing the transaction information to the blockchain network, to publish the smart contract to the blockchain network.