MetaMask Issue: Data not fetching from smart contract
As a developer building a real estate marketplace dApp with MetaMask, I ran into an unexpected issue where my code was fetching different data from the same smart contract in different versions of “Ethers” (5.7.2). This issue caused frustration and wasted development time.
The Issue: Different Ethers Versions
When using MetaMask to interact with a dApp, it is critical to ensure that the web3.js library is compatible with different versions of the Ethereum blockchain. Specifically, we are running into issues with different versions of “Ethers” (5.7.2), where the same code is fetching data from the smart contract differently.
The Code: Same Logic Across Versions
Our dApp uses a single JavaScript file to handle interactions with the smart contract. The file is structured as follows:
const Web3 = require("web3");
const Web3Provider = require('web3 provider');
async function main() {
const web3 = new Web3(new Web3Provider());
// Replace this comment with your actual logic to interact with the smart contract
const propertyData = wait web3.eth.call(0x...property_address, ["GET_PROPERTY_DATA"]);
// Log or process the data as needed
console.log(propertyData);
}
The problem: different versions of Ethers
When we run this code, different versions of “Ethers” (5.7.2) produce different results for the same property data. For example:
- On version 5.7.0, the
GET_PROPERTY_DATAfunction returns an object with a specific set of properties.
- On version 5.7.1, the
GET_PROPERTY_DATAfunction returns an empty array.
The solution: Upgrade Web3.js and provider
To solve this problem, we need to update our web3.js library and provider to ensure compatibility across different versions of the Ethereum blockchain. Here is a step-by-step solution:
- Update web3.js
: Update the
web3package to version 4.x.x, which is compatible with newer versions of the Ethereum blockchain.
npm install web3@4.x.x
- Upgrade Provider
: Upgrade the provider “Ethers” to version 5.x.x, which supports newer versions of the Ethereum blockchain.
npm upgrade --force-local ethers.js
Testing and Deployment
After updating our codebase, we need to test and deploy it on different versions of the Ethereum blockchain to verify that the issue is resolved.
- Testing on Multiple Ethers: Deploy our dApp on different versions of the Ethereum blockchain (e.g. 5.7.0, 5.7.1, 5.8.0) to ensure that the data retrieval issue is resolved.
- Check Compatibility: Verify that the same logic and code produce identical results on different Ethers.
Conclusion
The Metamask issue we encountered was due to incompatible “Ethers” versions. By updating our web3.js library and provider, we were able to resolve the issue and ensure consistent data retrieval across different versions of the Ethereum blockchain. This solution can be applied to similar issues in other decentralized application development projects that require compatibility with different blockchain versions.
