ethers-web3

This is the beginning of the ethers.io web3.

More coming soon.

Features

• Complete web3 object
• No need to install your own Ethereum nodes; we do that for you

Intalling

To use on your own website, simply include the script:

<script type="text/javascript" src="https://ethers.io/static/ethers-web3-019aab22c5fac0ab.js"></script>

To Do

• Automatically reconnect option (will have to deal with filters in weird ways, so application support for reconnect may be required regardless)
• Inject private keys and addresses into the ethers object as accounts
• Re-write the parts of web3 that ethers-web3 requires to remove the LGPL tendrils

Notes

• Filter support is new and may have issues; please let us know if you find any problems and reproduction steps if possible

API

The ethers object handles connecting to a Ethereum node for you, over an efficient WebSocket.

    // Connect to mainnet (homestead)
    var web3 = ethers.connect();

    // Connect to testnet (morden)
    var web3 = ethers.connect({testnet: true});

    // Connect to your own ethers-server (example: morden)
    var web3 = ethers.connect({endpoints: ['ws://localhost:8001/v1/morden']});

    // Connect with a normal/modified web3 installation
    var web3 = new Web3(ethers.EthersProvider({testnet: true}));

Synchronous Calls

Any call that must actually call the server cannot be synchronous, as WebSockets do not support them.

In general they are a bad idea for any task that could have a non-trivial running time. They prevent your user interface from updating and cause non-ideal user experiences.

Friends don't let friends call synchronously.

License

The ethers library is released under the MIT License.

The web3 library is available under the LGPL-3.0 license. This should not affect you unless you modify the source of the embedded web3, in which case those (and only those) changes are swept into the LGPL-3.0 license.