115 lines
4.7 KiB
Markdown
115 lines
4.7 KiB
Markdown
---
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id: what-and-why
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title: What & Why
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---
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Before we get into what LIGO is and why LIGO needs to exist, let's take a look at what options the Tezos blockchain offers us out of the box. If you want to implement smart contracts natively on Tezos, you have to learn [Michelson](https://tezos.gitlab.io/whitedoc/michelson.html).
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> 💡 The (Michelson) language is stack-based, with high level data types and primitives and strict static type checking.
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Here's an example of Michelson code:
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**`counter.tz`**
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```text
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{ parameter (or (or (nat %add) (nat %sub)) (unit %default)) ;
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storage int ;
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code { AMOUNT ; PUSH mutez 0 ; ASSERT_CMPEQ ; UNPAIR ;
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IF_LEFT
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{ IF_LEFT { ADD } { SWAP ; SUB } }
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{ DROP ; DROP ; PUSH int 0 } ;
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NIL operation ; PAIR } }
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```
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The contract above maintains an `int` in its storage. It has two entrypoints *(functions)* `add` and `sub` to modify it, and the default *entrypoint* of type unit will reset it to 0.
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The contract itself contains three main parts:
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- `parameter` - Argument provided by a transaction invoking the contract
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- `storage` - Type definition for the contract's data storage.
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- `code` - Actual Michelson code that has the provided parameter & the current storage value in its initial stack. It outputs a pair of operations and a new storage value as its resulting stack.
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Michelson code consists of *instructions* like `IF_LEFT`, `PUSH ...`, `UNPAIR` that are bundled togeter in what is called a *sequence*. Stack represents an intermediate state of the program, while **storage represents a persistent state**. Instructions are used to modify the run-time stack in order to yield a desired stack value when the program terminates.
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> 💡 A Michelson program running on the Tezos blockchain is meant to output a pair of values including a `list of operations` to emit and a new `storage` value to persist
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## Differences between a stack and traditional variable management
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Stack management might be a little bit challanging, especially if you're coming from a *C-like language*. Let's implement a similar program in Javascript:
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**`counter.js`**
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```javascript
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var storage = 0;
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function add(a) {
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storage += a
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}
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function sub(a) {
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storage -= a
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}
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// We're calling this function reset instead of default
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// because `default` is a javascript keyword
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function reset() {
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storage = 0;
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}
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```
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In our javascript program the initial `storage` value is `0` and it can be modified by running the functions `add(a)`, `sub(a)` and `reset()`.
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Unfortunately (???), we **can't run Javascript on the Tezos blockchain** at the moment. But we can choose LIGO, which will abstract the stack management and allow us to create readable, type-safe, and efficient smart contracts.
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> 💡 You can try running the javascript program [here](https://codepen.io/maht0rz/pen/dyyvoPQ?editors=0012)
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## C-like smart contracts instead of Michelson
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Let's take a look at a similar LIGO program. Don't worry if it's a little confusing at first; we'll explain all the syntax in the upcoming sections of the documentation.
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<!--DOCUSAURUS_CODE_TABS-->
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<!--Pascaligo-->
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```pascaligo
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type action is
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| Increment of int
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| Decrement of int
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| Reset of unit
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function main (const p : action ; const s : int) : (list(operation) * int) is
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block { skip } with ((nil : list(operation)),
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case p of
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| Increment(n) -> s + n
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| Decrement(n) -> s - n
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| Reset(n) -> 0
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end)
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```
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<!--END_DOCUSAURUS_CODE_TABS-->
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> 💡 You can find the Michelson compilation output of the contract above in **`ligo-counter.tz`**
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The LIGO contract behaves exactly* like the Michelson contract we've saw first, and it accepts the following LIGO expressions/values: `Increment(n)`, `Decrement(n)` and `Reset(n)`. Those serve as `entrypoint` identification, same as `%add` `%sub` or `%default` in the Michelson contract.
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**not exactly, the Michelson contract also checks if the `AMOUNT` sent is `0`*
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---
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## Runnable code snippets & exercises
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Some of the sections in this documentation will include runnable code snippets and exercises. Sources for those are available at
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the [LIGO Gitlab repository](https://gitlab.com/ligolang/ligo).
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### Snippets
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For example **code snippets** for the *Types* subsection of this doc, can be found here:
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`gitlab-pages/docs/language-basics/src/types/**`
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### Exercises
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Solutions to exercises can be found e.g. here: `gitlab-pages/docs/language-basics/exercises/types/**/solutions/**`
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### Running snippets / excercise solutions
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In certain cases it makes sense to be able to run/evaluate the given snippet or a solution, usually there'll be an example command which you can use, such as:
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```shell
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ligo evaluate-value -s pascaligo gitlab-pages/docs/language-basics/src/variables-and-constants/const.ligo age
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# Outputs: 25
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``` |