Updated 2020-02-26
Creating and Sending Transactions
You can send signed transactions using Hyperledger Besu eth_sendRawTransaction JSON-RPC API method.
Signed transactions can be simple value transfers, contract creation, or contract invocation.
Example scripts are provided to create a signed raw transaction that can be passed to
eth_sendRawTransaction to send Ether
and create a smart contract.
Private keys
Do not use the accounts in the examples on mainnet or any public network except for testing. The private keys are displayed which means the accounts are not secure.
All accounts and private keys in the examples are from the dev.json genesis file in the
/besu/ethereum/core/src/main/resources directory.
In production environments avoid exposing your private keys by creating signed transactions
offline, or use EthSigner to isolate your private keys and
sign transactions with eth_sendTransaction.
Tip
Libraries such as web3j or ethereumj and tools such as MyCrypto can also be used to create signed transactions.
eth_call vs eth_sendRawTransaction
You can interact with contracts using eth_call
or eth_sendRawTransaction.
The table below compares the characteristics of both calls.
| eth_call | eth_sendRawTransaction |
|---|---|
| Read-only | Write |
| Invokes contract function locally | Broadcasts to network |
| Does not change state of blockchain | Updates blockchain (for example, transfers ether between accounts) |
| Does not consume gas | Requires gas |
| Synchronous | Asynchronous |
| Return value of contract function available immediately | Returns transaction hash only. Possible transaction may not be included in a block (for example, if the gas price is too low). |