Idea: make view-only calls simpler

[ryancwalsh]

The good news is that the following code works (or rather, when combined with more code that I haven't shared here).

 export function getNftContract(account: Account) {
 const contract = new Contract(
 account, // the account object that is connecting
 certificateContractName,

 { viewMethods: ['nft_token'], // view methods do not change state but usually return a value changeMethods: ['nft_mint'], // change methods modify state } 

,
 );
 return contract;
 }

async function fetchCertificateDetails(tokenId: string) {
 const accountId: AccountId = ''; // TODO Why would account_id be required for a simple `near view` call? Clearly it's allowed to be empty.
 const keyStore = new InMemoryKeyStore(); // TODO: Why is this required? Clearly it's allowed to be empty.
 const config: ConnectConfig = {
 headers: {},
 networkId,
 keyStore, // optional if not signing transactions
 nodeUrl,
 walletUrl,
 helperUrl,
 // explorerUrl,
 };
 const near = await connect(config);
 const account = new Account(near.connection, accountId);
 const contract = getNftContract(account);
 console.log(

 { contract } 

);
 const response = await (contract as NFT).nft_token(

 { token_id: tokenId } 

);
 console.log(

 { response } 

);

But as you can see in my TODO comments and my confusion at https://discord.com/channels/490367152054992913/542945453533036544/937863529250320424, this feels really clunky.

accountId and keyStore don't actually get used. Therefore, ideally, the near-api-js shouldn't require them. I recommend updating near-api-js to not throw errors when they are omitted for view-only calls.

Additionally, look above at all of the lines of code involved to do a simple near view call.

Really, the only relevant pieces are networkId, `.nft_token(

{ token_id: tokenId }

), the contract ID / name, and I guess nodeUrl`. Right?

So shouldn't I be able to use a one-liner to fetch the JSON result of a near view call if I provide just those ingredients (arguments)?

It could be something like const result = nearView(networkId, nodeUrl, contractId, viewMethodName, viewMethodArgs);

Or maybe two lines would be better, like:

const network = nearNetwork(networkId, nodeUrl); const result = nearView(network, contractId, viewMethodName, viewMethodArgs);

Thanks!

-Ryan on NEAR Foundation's Education team

P.S. I'm totally new to blockchain and NEAR, so this suggestion might be bonkers. I'm eager to learn what you think!