Efficient Smart Contract Deployments with EIP-1167

Introduction

While I was working on DappFactory, we focused on enhancing the factory architecture used in our smart contracts. Our aim was to make deploying and upgrading smart contracts more flexible. This led us to explore “EIP-1167: Minimal Proxy Standard,” a standard that changed how we handle factory and clone contracts in blockchain.

What is EIP-1167?

Summary:

EIP-1167 provides a way to clone contract functionality in a cost-effective manner. It uses minimal bytecode to delegate calls to a fixed address. This approach simplifies the deployment of smart contracts.

How It Affects Deployment:

Traditionally, deploying a large reference contract multiple times is resource-intensive. With EIP-1167, we deploy minimal proxy contracts through a factory. These proxies use “delegateCalls” to interact with the reference contract’s bytecode, allowing new contracts to have unique addresses and storage but still execute the reference contract’s code.

Creating Minimal Proxies

Process:

The process begins with a Factory contract. This contract deploys minimal proxies that act like the reference contract. Here’s an example of how it’s done:

	function clone(address implementation) internal returns (address instance) {
	assembly {
	let ptr := mload(0x40)
	mstore(ptr, 0x3d602d80600a3d3981f3363d3d373d3d3d363d73000000000000000000000000)
	mstore(add(ptr, 0x14), shl(0x60, implementation))
	mstore(add(ptr, 0x28), 0x5af43d82803e903d91602b57fd5bf30000000000000000000000000000000000)
	instance := create(0, ptr, 0x37)
	}
	require(instance != address(0), “ERC1167: create failed”);
	}

view raw EIP1167Factory.sol hosted with ❤ by GitHub

The above assembly code creates and deploys new executable bytecode and returns the address. Bytecode looks something like this:

3d602d80600a3d3981f3363d3d373d3d3d363d73bebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebebe5af43d82803e903d91602b57fd5bf3

The key part of this bytecode involves replacing certain bytes with the reference contract’s address. The sequence `bebebe…` starts from byte 10 and ends on 29. You can literally count the places. Two letters represent one byte and one instruction. These bytes, from 10 to 29, are replaced by 20 byte reference implementation address.

Thats it. You deploy a contract with just this byte code. This bytecode has super powers and now this new contract with a super-hero like bytecode can behave exactly like reference implementation contract. 

Benefits of Using EIP-1167

• Reduced Costs: Deploying proxies is cheaper than full contracts.
• More Flexibility: Supports upgrades and changes in contracts.
• Improved Efficiency: Saves blockchain space when deploying similar contracts.

Further Reading on Bytecode

For those interested in the technical details of this bytecode, including its construction and instructions, here is a helpful article: Deep Dive into the Minimal Proxy Contract.

Conclusion

Adopting EIP-1167 has been a significant improvement in our smart contract deployment at DappFactory. It offers a more efficient, flexible, and cost-effective method for managing smart contracts in blockchain applications.

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