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The Power of Web3 Functions in Modern DApp Development

Web3 Functions have become an essential tool in the toolkit of successful blockchain developers. These permissionless, decentralized jobs enable developers to run off-chain logic and fetch data for smart contracts, potentially across multiple chains. Here's why they're crucial for rapid prototyping and building profitable applications:

Bridging On-Chain and Off-Chain Worlds​

Web3 Functions serve as a vital bridge between on-chain smart contracts and off-chain data or computation. This allows developers to:

  • Fetch real-world data (e.g., price feeds, weather data) for use in smart contracts
  • Perform complex computations off-chain, reducing gas costs
  • Interact with traditional Web2 APIs and bring that data on-chain

Rapid Prototyping and Iteration​

With Web3 Functions, developers can:

  • Quickly test ideas without modifying on-chain code
  • Iterate on off-chain logic without redeploying smart contracts
  • Experiment with different data sources or computation methods easily

Cross-Chain Interoperability​

Web3 Functions enable:

  • Data and logic sharing across multiple blockchains
  • Building applications that leverage the strengths of different networks
  • Creating unified user experiences across fragmented blockchain ecosystems

Cost-Effective Development​

By using Web3 Functions, developers can:

  • Reduce on-chain computation, lowering gas fees for users
  • Optimize resource usage by offloading heavy computations
  • Scale applications more efficiently by balancing on-chain and off-chain operations

Enhanced Functionality​

Web3 Functions allow for:

  • Complex trigger mechanisms for smart contract actions
  • Automated portfolio rebalancing in DeFi applications
  • Real-time data updates for on-chain oracles

Implementation​

To create Web3 Functions you will use Steer's Dynamic Job App with any custom data connectors and execution bundles required to implement the logic. To do this you will deploy a dynamic job vault paired with an execution bundle that can ingest any data required for decision making, and format execution payloads for the vault.

1. Data Connectors​

If any data is required for decision making, determining amounts of tokens or addresses, or checking state conditions these will need to be accessable via data connector. Each connector will manage the data retrival.

Reference the docs on how to write your own data connector bundles.

2. Exectuion Bundle​

The Exectuion Bundle ingests all of the data from the connectors and determines what on chain actions should be taken and how it should be formatted. This will determine:

  • Addresses of contracts to interact with
  • Functions to be called on said contracts
  • Parameters to be used
  • Or if no action should be taken at all

Multiple transactions can be processed in a single execution, and will need to be included in the formatted tx payload.

Reference the docs on how to write your own execution bundles.

3. Dynamic Job Vault​

After consensus is reached on the result of the execution bundle, it is relayed through the dynamic job vault which is where the desired transactions originate from and interact with other contracts on the chain. Any access controls can be given to the vault as the owner has control of the vault and what jobs can be registered through it. This vault will also have its own gas vault that funds the transactions.

Examples​

  • Create a job to monitor if a stable asset has started to deviate from peg across various chains to trigger a failsafe state.
  • Aggregate Twitter posts about a token, run sentiment analysis and buy/sell as a result.
  • Pull health data from smart devices and publish them on a decentralized social media platform.
  • Call a contract function when certain requirements are met, ie. liquidations, health checks, event emissions.
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