Publishing Ops

Anatomy of an Op

An Op is a function written in Lua.

--[[
Document the function
]]--
return function(state, arg1, arg2, ...)
  state = state or {}
  -- Code here
  return state
end

The first argument of the function is always the state, and it can receive any number of other arguments. Within the body of the function, those arguments can be used to mutate the state in any way before returning a new, modified state.

What can an Op do?

Most Ops will probably be simple, single purpose functions, designed to do one thing and do it well. However, Ops can be coded to do whatever you can imagine.

A function can return any value, including other functions. Returned functions can then be called in your own application's code, outside of Lua. This is a great way of passing in private data such as keys, without permanently exposing them to the Lua VM.

Developers can also chose to extend the Lua VM with their own modules, even writing code in their own application that is called from within the Lua VM.

This kind of flexibility is powerful and opens up many innovative use cases.

Operate CLI

The Operate CLI provides a set of tools to help create, manage and publish Ops.

Installation

It can be installed using npm or yarn.

# Install with npm
> npm install -g @operate/cli

# Install with yarn
> yarn global add @operate/cli

Help

You can list all available commands and/or get usage help for a specific command.

# List available commands
> operate --help 

# Get help on any command
> operate [command] --help

Initialise a new Op library

Use the init command to initialise a working directory for your Op(s). This will generate a .bit environment file in your working directory containing your publishing address and private key.

> operate init path/to/directory

Wallet

You will need to fund your publishing wallet before publishing any Op. From within your working directory, use the wallet command to see your wallet address and balance.

> operate wallet

Create a new Op

Use the new command to generate a new blank function in the src folder of your working directory.

> operate new my/function -a arg1 -a arg2

Publish an Op

When ready (and your publishing wallet is funded), use the publish command to publish the Op to the blockchain.

> operate publish my/function

It is recommended to test functions thoroughly before publishing on the blockchain. View the operate/op_library repository for examples of setting up an Op library with an Ex-Unit test suite.