TON Foundation updates TON virtual machine
The TON Foundation, a non-profit association pushing the frontiers of The Open Network (TON), is unveiling an update to the TON virtual machine (TVM). This update is designed to provide developers with a broader suite of smart contracts, services, and products.
Extending cryptography
The current state of the TVM exhibits certain limitations and features that affect its functionality and usability. Among these limitations is the display of incoming messages value only after TVM initiation, requiring its storage in global variables or passing through local variables during execution.
Additionally, calculating storage fees poses a challenge. Presently, the only viable method involves storing the balance from the previous transaction, calculating gas usage, and then comparing it to the current balance minus the message value.
The new update intends to break down these barriers, permitting developers to generate a wider range of smart contracts, services, and products. This enhancement will arm developers with more robust cryptographic capabilities.
Innovative features
The upgrade integrates features like arbitrary-precision arithmetic and new instructions to streamline the process of writing smart contracts on TON, thus bolstering both the functionality and security of the platform.
Anatloy Makasov, a core developer at TON Foundation, shared his excitement about the update’s potential for the cross-chain solutions and the compatibility it can provide for devices such as hardware wallets.
“This update opens up a vast opportunity for developers. We’ve even announced a competition for the best usage, and I am confident that the participants will present such innovative applications that we hadn’t even contemplated,” stated Makasov.
The upgrade is projected to be shipped in testnet by the end of May and in mainnet by the end of June.
New solutions
In line with the release, the TON Foundation also announced a programming contest, urging its growing community to display their skills and ingenuity by utilizing the latest TVM features.
The contest provides developers with the opportunity to compete for a share of the $30,000 prize pool, paid in TONcoin. This initiative paves the way for developers to exhibit their innovative applications and solutions within the TON ecosystem.
