Unable to use 0.4.* BIN compiler with latest package

Preface

This is a replication of the issue from https://github.com/ConsenSys/solc-typed-ast/pull/92.

Setup

• package.json

  {
      "name": "test-server",
      "version": "1.0.0",
      "description": "",
      "main": "index.js",
      "author": "",
      "license": "UNLICENSED",
      "dependencies": {
          "solc-0811": "npm:solc@0.8.11",
          "solc-0426": "npm:solc@0.4.26",
          "axios": "^0.26.0",
          "fs-extra": "^10.0.0"
      }
  }
  

• index.js

  const axios = require("axios");
  const fse = require("fs-extra");
  const path = require("path");
  const { argv } = require("process");
  const solc0426 = require("solc-0426");
  const solc0811 = require("solc-0811");
  const stream = require('stream');
  const util = require('util');
  
  const CACHE_DIR = path.join(__dirname, ".compiler_cache");;
  const BINARIES_URL = "https://binaries.soliditylang.org";
  
  async function getCompilerList(arch) {
      const cachedListPath = path.join(CACHE_DIR, arch, "list.json");
  
      if (fse.existsSync(cachedListPath)) {
          return fse.readJSONSync(cachedListPath);
      }
  
      const response = await axios.get(`${BINARIES_URL}/${arch}/list.json`);
      const metaData = response.data;
  
      fse.ensureDirSync(path.join(CACHE_DIR, arch));
      fse.writeJSONSync(cachedListPath, metaData);
  
      return metaData;
  }
  
  async function getCompilerForVersion(arch, version) {
      const list = await getCompilerList(arch);
      const compilerFileName = list.releases[version];
  
      if (compilerFileName === undefined) {
          return undefined;
      }
  
      const compilerLocalPath = path.join(CACHE_DIR, arch, compilerFileName);
  
      if (!fse.existsSync(compilerLocalPath)) {
          const response = await axios({
              method: "GET",
              url: `${BINARIES_URL}/${arch}/${compilerFileName}`,
              responseType: "stream"
          });
  
          const target = fse.createWriteStream(compilerLocalPath, { mode: 0o555 });
          const pipeline = util.promisify(stream.pipeline);
  
          await pipeline(response.data, target);
      }
  
      return compilerLocalPath;
  }
  
  (async () => {
      const [arch, version, mode] = argv.slice(2);
  
      console.log(`ARCH: ${arch}`);
      console.log(`VERSION: ${version}`);
      console.log(`MODE: ${mode}`);
      console.log();
  
      const compilerFileName = await getCompilerForVersion(arch, version);
      const compilerModule = require(compilerFileName);
  
      if (mode === "legacy") {
          const wrappedCompilerModule = solc0426.setupMethods(compilerModule);
          // const wrappedCompilerModule = solc0811.setupMethods(compilerModule);
  
          const input = {
              "language": "Solidity",
              "sources": {
                  "sample.sol": "contract Test{}"
              },
              "settings": {
                  "outputSelection": {
                      "*": {
                          "*": [
                              "*"
                          ],
                          "": [
                              "*"
                          ]
                      }
                  }
              }
          }
  
          const output = wrappedCompilerModule.compile(input);
          // const output = wrappedCompilerModule.compile(JSON.stringify(input));
      
          console.log(output);
      } else {
          const wrappedCompilerModule = solc0811.setupMethods(compilerModule);
  
          const input = {
              "language": "Solidity",
              "sources": {
                  "sample.sol": {
                      "content": "contract Test{}"
                  } 
              },
              "settings": {
                  "outputSelection": {
                      "*": {
                          "*": [
                              "*"
                          ],
                          "": [
                              "*"
                          ]
                      }
                  }
              }
          }
  
          const output = wrappedCompilerModule.compile(JSON.stringify(input));
      
          console.log(JSON.parse(output));
      }
  })();
  
  

• commands

  npm install
  node index.js bin 0.4.26 legacy
  

Details

This scenario is originally working but as I undestand, SolcJS should make a flow of interaction with compiler to be universal.

If we uncomment lines 68 and 90, then comment lines 67 and 89, we will get

{"errors":[{"component":"general","formattedMessage":"Source input is not a JSON object.","message":"Source input is not a JSON object.","severity":"error","type":"JSONError"}]}

If we try to uncomment 89 and comment 90, then we will get

{"errors":[{"component":"general","formattedMessage":"* Line 1, Column 1\n  Syntax error: value, object or array expected.\n* Line 1, Column 1\n  A valid JSON document must be either an array or an object value.\n","message":"* Line 1, Column 1\n  Syntax error: value, object or array expected.\n* Line 1, Column 1\n  A valid JSON document must be either an array or an object value.\n","severity":"error","type":"JSONError"}]}

The original expectation was that we are able to use side-loaded compiler as on lines 94 and 117:

const wrappedCompilerModule = solc0811.setupMethods(compilerModule);
// const input = ...
const output = wrappedCompilerModule.compile(JSON.stringify(input));

Can somebody take a look at this? Thanks in advance.

[blitz-1306]

@axic @cameel The issue was a bit abstracted in an original repo. Even though I used latest SolcJS, the input was composed somewhere else and it was composed for legacy version, so there was a plain string instead of { content: "..." }. When switching SolcJS we actually were have to simplify input composition logic.

Thank you both for pointing out an issue with input. It is on our end and now it is understood now to fix it. I will close this thread, as it not relates to latest SolcJS release.

[axic]

Sorry, I think this is hard to follow without line numbers when you refer to line numbers.

        const output = wrappedCompilerModule.compile(input);
        // const output = wrappedCompilerModule.compile(JSON.stringify(input));

The current API always expects stringified JSON as an input.

The problem you are facing here is using an older package, which should not be needed. The ideal setup is using the very latest solc-js with every past version.

If you still want to use the 0.4.26 package, then it needs to call wrappedCompilerModule.compileStandard(JSON.stringify(input)). compile was a different function altogether.