eth_call | zkEVM

Polygon zkEVM API method that enables instant execution of a new message call without requiring the creation of a transaction on the blockchain. This can be useful for testing and debugging by simulating transfers or smart contract transactions and retrieving data from the blockchain.

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Parameters

• object — the transaction call object:

  • from — (optional) the address string used to send the transaction.
  • to — the string of the address to which the transaction is directed, a wallet, or a smart contract.
  • gas — (optional) the maximum amount of gas that can be used by the transaction.
  • gasprice — (optional) the amount of gas price the sender is willing to pay for each gas unit in Wei.
  • value — (optional) the value sent with this transaction, encoded as hexadecimal.
  • data — (optional) additional data to be sent with the call, usually used to invoke functions from smart contracts as a string of the hash of the method signature and encoded parameters. See the Ethereum Contract ABI.

• quantity or tag — the integer of a block encoded as hexadecimal or the string with:

  • latest — the most recent block in the blockchain and the current state of the blockchain at the most recent block
  • earliest — the earliest available or genesis block
  • pending — the pending state and transactions block. The current state of transactions that have been broadcast to the network but have not yet been included in a block.

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Response

• data — the result of executing the specified call on the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), encoded as a hexadecimal string.

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eth_call code examples

The following code snippets demonstrate how to simulate a standard ether transfer between two accounts. Note that when using eth_call to simulate a transfer or a smart contract transaction, the sender account must have a sufficient balance to cover the associated gas fee.

const { Web3 } = require('web3');
const NODE_URL = "CHAINSTACK_NODE_URL";
const web3 = new Web3(NODE_URL);

async function simulateTransfer() {
    try {
        // Define the accounts to transfer between
        const fromAddress = "0x3eb6347f6282E78F778C23c97E8657F5EE5378E0";
        const toAddress = "0x19e7e376e7c213b7e7e7e46cc70a5dd086daff2a";

        // Define the value to transfer (converted to Wei)
        const value = web3.utils.toWei("100", "ether");

        // Build transaction object
        const transactionObject = {
            from: fromAddress,
            to: toAddress,
            gas: 21000, // 21000 is the standard for a regular tranfer
            value: value,
            data: ""
        }

        // Use eth_call to simulate the transfer on the latest block
        const result = await web3.eth.call({
            transactionObject
        }, "latest");

        console.log(`Transaction hash: ${result}`);
    } catch (error) {
        console.error(`Error: ${error.message}`);
    }
}

simulateTransfer();

Executing this code will produce a return value of 0x, indicating a successful transaction. This implies that the transaction will be executed without errors when the code is used to send the transaction.

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Use case

A common use case for eth_call is calling smart contract functions. For example, interact with an ERC-20 token smart contract deployed on the zlEVM network and retrieve the balance of a specific account.