A realm refers to a specific instance of a smart contract that can be written in the Gnolang programming language. If your goal is to become a dapp developer, it is imperative that you fully understand how realms work.
Before we dive in, let's first study the differences between packages and realms.
- A unit that contains functionalities and utilities that can be used in realms.
- Packages are stateless.
- The default import path is
gno.land/p/~~~. - Can be imported to other realms or packages.
- Smart contracts in Gnolang.
- Realms are stateful.
- The default import path is
gno.land/r/~~~. - Each realm has the capability to publicly export the function
Render(path string) string, which performs rendering when passed a valid markdown as a parameter for the specifiedpath.
A notable feature of realms is the Render() function. Let's see Render() in action with a sample code:
package demo
func Render(path string) string {
return "# Hello Gno!"
}Upon calling the realm above, # Hello Gno! is printed with a string-typed path declared in an argument. It should be noted that while the path argument included in the sample code is not utilized, it serves the purpose of distinguishing the path during the rendering process.
The Render function can be invoked through three distinct methods:
Note: The examples below assume that the sample realm above has been deployed.
Method 1. Visiting the website
Calling Render by visiting the website
Upon deployment of a realm, the Render() function can be invoked by specifying the path on the website, thus enabling the rendering of Markdown text.
Method 2. The maketx call option using gnokey
Calling Render with gnokey maketx call
Instead of rendering, however, the raw markdown is printed.
Method 3. The query vm/qrender option using gnokey
Calling Render with gnokey query vm/qrender
Similar to the 2nd method, the raw markdown is printed.