Solana: Add instructions to versioned transactions

Adding Instructions to Solana Version Transactions

Version transactions allow you to add additional information to your transactions, making it easier to manage complex data in smart contracts. However, when working with versions, you need to be careful not to introduce errors or inconsistencies.

In this article, we will show you how to add instructions to a Solana version transaction using the “solana-program” library and the “@solana/program/script” module.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, make sure you have the required libraries installed:

npm install @solana-program/solana-script-program

yarn added @solana-program/solana-script-program

Initial transaction code with instructions

const script = require('@solanaprogram/script');
// Define a function to generate transaction instructions
asynchronous function generateInstructions(
payload,
userPublicKey
) {
// Create a new instruction that includes the quote response and the user's public key
const instructions = [
script instruction({
name: 'quoteResponse',
args: [payload.quoteResponse],
}),
script instruction({
name: 'userPublicKey',
args: [userPublicKey],
}),
];
return { instructions };
}
// Create a new transaction that includes the generated instructions
asynchronous function createTransaction(
payload,
userPublicKey
) {
const transaction = await script.createTransaction(
{
fromPubkey: userPublicKey,
amount: payload.amount,
scriptLimit: true, // Enable versioning
},
generateInstructions(payload, userPublicKey)
);
return transaction;
}
// Example usage:
const payload = {
quoteResponse: "
amount: 10n,
};
const userPublicKey = 'your_user_public_key_here';
createTransaction(payload, userPublicKey).then((transaction) => {

  console.log(transaction);

}).catch((error) => {

  console.error(error);

});

How ​​it works

In this example, we define a “generateInstructions” function that takes the transaction payload and the user’s public key as arguments. This function creates two new instructions: one for the offer response and one for the user’s public key.

We then create a new transaction using the script.createTransaction method, passing an object with the “fromPubkey”, “amount” and “scriptLimit” options.

The “scriptLimit” option is set to True, which allows transaction versioning. This means that Solana will store multiple versions of the transaction history, each containing the same instructions, but possibly with different price responses or user public key values.

Best Practices

When working with versioned transactions:

• Always use scriptLimit with true to enable versioning.

• Use a consistent naming convention for instructions (e.g. ‘quoteResponse’ and ‘userPublicKey’).

• Keep instruction data secure and do not expose it publicly.

• When storing multiple versions of transactions, consider the potential impact on scalability and performance.

By following these guidelines, you can effectively use versioned transactions to manage complex data in your smart contracts.