Naming Conventions

When implementing Wire smart contracts and when storing data in a Wire blockchain, it is important to follow the established conventions for naming accounts, actions, tables, etc.

Names

• Applies to all Antelope encoded names (accounts, actions, tables, etc.)
• Encoded as a 64-bit unsigned integer (uint64_t) on the blockchain.
• First 12 characters, if any, encoded in base32 using characters: ., 1-5, a-z
• 13th character, if applicable, encoded in base16 using characters: ., 1-5, a-j

Standard account names

• Must contain exactly 12 characters from the base32 set: ., 1-5, a-z
• 13th character not allowed or lesser than 12 characters
• Must start with a lowercase letter a-z
• Must not end in a dot . character

Non-standard account names

• May contain between 1 and 12 characters from the base32 set: ., 1-5, a-z
• 13th character not allowed in account name
• Must not end in a dot . character

Table, struct, class, function (action) names

• May contain between 1 and 13 characters.
• First 12 characters, if any, from the base32 set: ., 1-5, a-z
• 13th character, if any, from the base16 set: ., 1-5, a-j

Format

The figure below showcases a 12 character string formatted into a 64-bit unsigned integer. Note: the 13th char, if any, contains 2⁴ = 16 cases per 1 digit (char): 1 (.) + 5 (1-5) + 10 (a-j).

Encoding and decoding

Antelope name objects can be created, encoded, and decoded via the sysio::name class.

1. To encode an std::string into an Antelope name object, use the appropriate sysio::name() constructor.
2. To encode a char * string literal into an Antelope name object, you can also use the ""_n operator.
3. To decode an Antelope name object into an std::string, use the sysio::to_string() function.

Examples

auto sysio_user = sysio::name{user};  //encodes user string to sysio::name object
auto user_str = user_name_obj.to_string(); //decodes sysio::name obj to string
auto standard_account = "standardname"_n;  //encodes literal string to sysio::name
auto non_standard_account = ".standard"_n; //encodes literal string to sysio::name