Icon LinkRead-only Calls

When interacting with a contract, you might want to call a method that does not change the state of the blockchain. For example, a method that reads a value from storage and returns it without modifying the storage.

In such cases, there's no need to create an actual blockchain transaction; you only want to read a value quickly. You can achieve this using the .get() method:

const { value } = await contract.functions.echo_u8(15).get();
 
expect(value).toEqual(15);

get() doesn't take funding, as it is a read-only call that doesn't alter the chain state.

If you want to dry run a transaction call that takes funding without altering the chain state, use dryRun().

Icon LinkWhen to use get() vs call()

get(): Appropriate for read-only calls; use this method when calling a function that does not modify the blockchain's state. It is intended for read-only operations, like fetching data from the blockchain without making any changes. Since it doesn't require any gas or transaction fees, get() is a more efficient way to access data stored on the blockchain.

call(): Appropriate for state-changing calls; use this method when calling a function that modifies the blockchain's state, like transferring funds or updating values. Since these things involve changing the blockchain state, call() requires gas and transaction fees to be paid.