Overview
ask! is an Embedded Domain Specific Language (EDSL) to write WebAssembly based smart contracts using typescript.
Unlike solidity, ask! is not a standalone languange but more like a assemblyscript "contract format" with customized @message decorator. Those decorators tell ask! compiler how the smart contract is define and further compiles them to WASM bytecode compatible with Substrate.
Assemblyscript#
ask! is subset of Assemblyscript while Assemblyscript is a subset of Typescript syntax. Currently, a large group of developers are using Typescript since Typescript has relatively low learning curve. Therefore, Patract Labs optimistically believes with the introduction of ask!, we would see a good growth of contract developers in Substrate.
ask! vs ink!#
| languange | ask! | ink! |
|---|---|---|
| eDSL | Typescript | rust |
| annotation | decorator | macro |
| cli | ask-cli | cargo contract |
| abstraction | inheritence | trait |
| data types | AssemblyScript SCALE Codec | Parity SCALE Codec |