Basic Operations

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Basic Operations
Learn how to use basic features of Boba (e.g. bridges, basic L2 ops) through examples
Below, we provide code snippets for several typical operations on the L2, such as checking the gas price and bridging funds. Overall, note that from the perspective of solidity code and rpc calls, Boba is identical to mainchain in most aspects, so your experience (and code) from mainchain should carry over directly. The main practical differences center on Gas and on cross-chain bridging operations.
To see examples of how to perform dozens of basic operations on Boba, you can also look at the react code for the Boba Gateway.
Check the Current Gas Price
The Gas Price on L2 changes every 30 seconds, with some smoothing to reduce sharp discontinuities in the price from one moment to the next. The maximum percentage change of the L2 gas price is 5% in the gas price oracle. Like on mainchain, the current gas price can be obtained via .getGasPrice():
  this.L2Provider = new ethers.providers.StaticJsonRpcProvider('mainnet.boba.network')
​
  const gasPrice = await this.L2Provider.getGasPrice()
   
  console.log("Current gas price:", gasPrice )
  //prints: Current gas price: BigNumber {_hex: '0x02540be400', _isBigNumber: true}
​
  console.log("Current gas price", gasPrice.toString())
  //prints: Current gas price: 10000000000
Typical values are 3 to 10 Gwei.
Estimate the cost of a contract call
Like on mainchain, the cost of a L2 transaction is the product of the current gas price and the 'complexity' of the contract call, with some calls being much more expensive than others. The contract call complexity is quantified via the gas. For example, the cost of an approval on L2 is about 0.0004 ETH, or about $1.70 (Oct. 2021):
  const L2ERC20Contract = new ethers.Contract(
    currencyAddress,
    L2ERC20Json.abi,
    this.provider.getSigner()
  )
​
  //this is the key call - this results in a TX body that can be used
  //by estimateGas(TX) to estimate the gas
  const tx = await L2ERC20Contract.populateTransaction.approve(
    allAddresses.L2LPAddress,
    utils.parseEther('1.0')
  )
​
  const approvalGas_BN = await this.L2Provider.estimateGas(tx)
​
  approvalCost_BN = approvalGas_BN.mul(gasPrice)
​
  console.log("Current gas price", gasPrice.toString())
  console.log("Approval gas:", approvalGas_BN.toString())
  console.log("Approval cost in ETH:", utils.formatEther(approvalCost_BN))
​
  //Current gas price: 10000000000
  //Approval gas: 44138
  //Approval cost in ETH: 0.00044138
NOTE: The gas for a particular transaction depends both on the nature of the call (e.g. approve) and the call parameters, such as the amount (in this case, 1.0 ETH). A common source of reverted transactions is to mis-estimate the gas, such as by calling .estimateGas() with a TX generated for a different value.
  Typical L2 gas values:
​
  Approve 0 ETH:  24866
  Approve 1 ETH:  44138
  Fast Exit:     141698
NOTE: Unlike on L1, on L2 there is no benefit to paying more - you just waste ETH. The sequencer operates in first in first serve, and transaction order is determined by the arrival time of your transaction, not by how much you are willing to pay.
NOTE: To protect users, overpaying by more than a 10% percent will also revert your transactions. The core gas price logic is as follows:
  //Core l2 gas price code logic
​
	fee := new(big.Int).Set(opts.ExpectedGasPrice)
	
	// Allow for a downward buffer to protect against L1 gas price volatility
	if opts.ThresholdDown != nil {
		fee = mulByFloat(fee, opts.ThresholdDown)
	}
	
	// Protect the sequencer from being underpaid
	// if user fee < expected fee, return error
	if opts.UserGasPrice.Cmp(fee) == -1 {
		return ErrGasPriceTooLow
	}
	
	// Protect users from overpaying by too much
	if opts.ThresholdUp != nil {
		// overpaying = user fee - expected fee
		overpaying := new(big.Int).Sub(opts.UserGasPrice, opts.ExpectedGasPrice)
		threshold := mulByFloat(opts.ExpectedGasPrice, opts.ThresholdUp)
		// if overpaying > threshold, return error
		if overpaying.Cmp(threshold) == 1 {
			return ErrGasPriceTooHigh
		}
	}
Gas Price tolerance band : The gasPrice you use should be within 10% of the value reported by .getGasPrice(). Let’s say the gasPrice is 100 Gwei. Then, the l2geth will accept any gasPrice between 90 Gwei to 110 Gwei.
An L2->L2 transfer
//Transfer funds from one account to another, on the L2
async transfer(address, value_Wei_String, currency) {
​
	let tx = null
​
	try {
	  
	  if(currency === allAddresses.L2_ETH_Address) {
	    
	    //we are transferring ETH - special call
	    let wei = BigNumber.from(value_Wei_String)
​
	    tx = await this.provider.send('eth_sendTransaction', 
	      [
	        { 
	          from: this.account,
	          to: address,
	          value: ethers.utils.hexlify(wei)
	        }
	      ]
	    )
​
	  } else {
	    // we are transferring an ERC20...
	    tx = await this.STANDARD_ERC20_Contract
	    	.attach(currency)
	    	.transfer(
		      address,
		      value_Wei_String
		    )
	    await tx.wait()
	  }
	  
	  return tx
	} catch (error) {
	  console.log("Transfer error:", error)
	  return error
	}
}
An L1->L2 Classic Bridge Operation
  //Move ERC20 Tokens from L1 to L2
  async depositErc20(value_Wei_String, currency, currencyL2) {
​
    const L1_TEST_Contract = this.L1_TEST_Contract.attach(currency)
​
    let allowance_BN = await L1_TEST_Contract.allowance(
      this.account,
      allAddresses.L1StandardBridgeAddress
    )
​
	const allowed = allowance_BN.gte(BigNumber.from(value_Wei_String))
​
	if(!allowed) {
		const approveStatus = await L1_TEST_Contract.approve(
		  allAddresses.L1StandardBridgeAddress,
		  value_Wei_String
		)
		await approveStatus.wait()
		console.log("ERC 20 L1 ops approved:",approveStatus)
	}
​
	const depositTxStatus = await this.L1StandardBridgeContract.depositERC20(
		currency,
		currencyL2,
		value_Wei_String,
		this.L2GasLimit,
		utils.formatBytes32String(new Date().getTime().toString())
	)
​
	//at this point the tx has been submitted, and we are waiting...
	await depositTxStatus.wait()
​
	const [l1ToL2msgHash] = await this.watcher.getMessageHashesFromL1Tx(
		depositTxStatus.hash
	)
	console.log(' got L1->L2 message hash', l1ToL2msgHash)
​
	const l2Receipt = await this.watcher.getL2TransactionReceipt(
		l1ToL2msgHash
	)
	console.log(' completed Deposit! L2 tx hash:', l2Receipt.transactionHash)
​
	return l2Receipt
    
  }
Accessing latest L1 Block number
The hex value that corresponds to the L1BLOCKNUMBER opcode (0x4B) may be changed in the future. We strongly discourage direct use of this opcode within your contracts. Instead, if you want to access the latest L1 block number, please use the OVM_L1BlockNumber contract as described below.
The block number of the latest L1 block seen by the L2 system can be accessed via the L1BLOCKNUMBER opcode. Solidity doesn't make it easy to use non-standard opcodes, so there is a simple contract located at [0x4200000000000000000000000000000000000013 that will allow you to trigger this opcode. You can use this contract as follows:
import { iOVM_L1BlockNumber } from "@eth-optimism/contracts/L2/predeploys/iOVM_L1BlockNumber.sol";
import { Lib_PredeployAddresses } from "@eth-optimism/contracts/libraries/constants/Lib_PredeployAddresses.sol";
​
contract MyContract {
   function myFunction() public {
      // ... your code here ...
​
      uint256 l1BlockNumber = iOVM_L1BlockNumber(
         Lib_PredeployAddresses.L1_BLOCK_NUMBER // located at 0x4200000000000000000000000000000000000013
      ).getL1BlockNumber();
​
      // ... your code here ...
   }
}
Block Numbers and Timestamps
Block production is not constant
On Ethereum, the NUMBER opcode (block.number in Solidity) corresponds to the current Ethereum block number. Similarly, in Boba Network, block.number corresponds to the current L2 block number. However, each transaction on L2 is placed in a separate block and blocks are NOT produced at a constant rate.
This is important because it means that block.number is currently NOT a reliable source of timing information. If you want access to the current time, you should use block.timestamp (the TIMESTAMP opcode) instead.
Timestamp lags by up to 15 minutes
Note that block.timestamp is pulled automatically from the latest L1 block seen by the L2. L2 currently waits for about 15 minutes (~50 confirmations) before the L1 block is accepted. As a result, the timestamp may lag behind the current time by up to 15 minutes.
Development Stack
Dual fee system
Last modified 3mo ago
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Outline
Check the Current Gas Price
Estimate the cost of a contract call
An L2->L2 transfer
An L1->L2 Classic Bridge Operation
Accessing latest L1 Block number
Block Numbers and Timestamps
Block production is not constant
Timestamp lags by up to 15 minutes