Avalanche API method that returns the latest block number of the blockchain. A block number is a hexadecimal number representing the block's position in the blockchain. For example, the block number 0x69B5B
means that the block is the 432,987th block in the blockchain.
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Parameters
none
Response
result
β the integer value of the node's latest block number is synced to encoded as hexadecimal. The block number is used to identify the block's position in the blockchain and is updated every time a new block is added to the chain.
eth_blockNumber
code examples
eth_blockNumber
code examplesconst Web3 = require("web3");
const NODE_URL = "CHAINSTACK_NODE_URL";
const web3 = new Web3(NODE_URL);
async function getLatestBlockNumber() {
const block = await web3.eth.getBlockNumber();
console.log(`Latest block: ${block}`);
}
getLatestBlockNumber()
const ethers = require('ethers');
const NODE_URL = "CHAINSTACK_NODE_URL";
const provider = new ethers.providers.JsonRpcProvider(NODE_URL);
const eth_getBlockNumber = async () => {
const block_Number = await provider.getBlockNumber();
console.log(block_Number);
};
eth_getBlockNumber();
from web3 import Web3
node_url = "CHAINSTACK_NODE_URL"
web3 = Web3(Web3.HTTPProvider(node_url))
print (web3.eth.block_number)
Use case
A possible use case for the eth_blockNumber
method in Avalanche is for applications that need to be aware of the current block numberβsome applications may need to be mindful of the current block number to function correctly. For example, a DApp may use the current block number to determine the expiration date of a time-limited offer.
The following code uses the web3.js library and defines a function called getCurrentBlockNumber
. When called, this function returns the latest block number from the network, and you can use it in your DApp.
const Web3 = require('web3');
// Connect to the Ethereum network
const node_url = "CHAINSTACK_NODE_URL";
const web3 = new Web3(node_url);
// Define a function that returns the current block number
async function getCurrentBlockNumber() {
const blockNumber = await web3.eth.getBlockNumber();
return blockNumber;
};
// Use the getCurrentBlockNumber function in your application
async function main() {
// Let's say you want to offer a special price on a service to a specific user.
// Offer expires in a week, Avalanche produces 1 block every 2 seconds which means 285600 block per week
const blockInAWeek = 285600;
const currentBlockNumber = await getCurrentBlockNumber();
const offerExpires = currentBlockNumber + blockInAWeek;
console.log(`Your special offer will expire on block: ${offerExpires}`);
};
main();
You can then use your application's getCurrentBlockNumber
function to get the current block number whenever you need it. In this example, we use it to calculate on which block a special offer to a specific user will expire. We retrieve the block when we issue the offer to the user and add 50400
, which is approximately how many Ethereum blocks are produced weekly. Now, in the offerExpires
constant, we have the last block when the user can exercise the special price.
Use the getCurrentBlockNumber
function to compare it to offerExpires
to know if the offer is still valid.
Try the eth_blockNumber
RPC method yourself
eth_blockNumber
RPC method yourself