web3 Namespace

Web3 utility RPC methods for client information and cryptographic functions

Overview

The web3 namespace provides utility methods for client version information and cryptographic operations.

Methods

web3_clientVersion

Returns the current client version.

curl -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --data '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"web3_clientVersion","params":[],"id":1}' \
  https://rpc.viction.xyz

result · string

Client name and version information

Example Response:

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "result": "Viction/v2.3.0-stable/linux-amd64/go1.19.5"
}

The version string typically includes:

• Client name (Viction)
• Version number (v2.3.0-stable)
• Operating system (linux-amd64)
• Go version (go1.19.5)

---

web3_sha3

Returns Keccak-256 (not the standardized SHA3-256) hash of the given data.

curl -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --data '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"web3_sha3","params":["0x68656c6c6f20776f726c64"],"id":1}' \
  https://rpc.viction.xyz

params[0] · string · required

Data to hash (must be hex encoded with “0x” prefix)

result · string

Keccak-256 hash of the input data (32 bytes, hex encoded)

Example Response:

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "result": "0x47173285a8d7341e5e972fc677286384f802f8ef42a5ec5f03bbfa254cb01fad"
}

Despite the name “sha3”, this method uses Keccak-256, which is what Ethereum and Viction use for hashing. This is different from the final SHA3-256 standard.

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Usage Examples

JavaScript (Web3.js)

const Web3 = require('web3');
const web3 = new Web3('https://rpc.viction.xyz');

// Get client version
web3.eth.getNodeInfo()
  .then(version => console.log('Client version:', version));

// Hash data using Keccak-256
const hash = web3.utils.sha3('hello world');
console.log('Hash:', hash);
// Output: 0x47173285a8d7341e5e972fc677286384f802f8ef42a5ec5f03bbfa254cb01fad

// Hash bytes
const hashBytes = web3.utils.sha3('0x68656c6c6f20776f726c64');
console.log('Hash from bytes:', hashBytes);

JavaScript (Ethers.js)

const { JsonRpcProvider, keccak256, toUtf8Bytes } = require('ethers');
const provider = new JsonRpcProvider('https://rpc.viction.xyz');

// Get client version
provider.send('web3_clientVersion', [])
  .then(version => console.log('Client version:', version));

// Hash data using Keccak-256
const hash = keccak256(toUtf8Bytes('hello world'));
console.log('Hash:', hash);

Python (Web3.py)

from web3 import Web3

w3 = Web3(Web3.HTTPProvider('https://rpc.viction.xyz'))

# Get client version
client_version = w3.clientVersion
print(f'Client version: {client_version}')

# Hash data using Keccak-256
hash_value = w3.keccak(text='hello world')
print(f'Hash: {hash_value.hex()}')

# Hash hex data
hash_hex = w3.keccak(hexstr='68656c6c6f20776f726c64')
print(f'Hash from hex: {hash_hex.hex()}')

---

Common Use Cases

Client Version Checking

const web3 = new Web3('https://rpc.viction.xyz');

async function checkClientVersion() {
  const version = await web3.eth.getNodeInfo();
  console.log('Connected to:', version);
  
  // Parse version string
  const versionMatch = version.match(/v(\d+\.\d+\.\d+)/);
  if (versionMatch) {
    const nodeVersion = versionMatch[1];
    console.log('Node version:', nodeVersion);
    
    // Check if version is compatible
    const minVersion = '2.3.0';
    if (compareVersions(nodeVersion, minVersion) >= 0) {
      console.log('Node version is compatible');
    } else {
      console.warn('Node version may be outdated');
    }
  }
}

Data Hashing for Verification

// Hash transaction data for verification
const txData = '0x' + Buffer.from('transaction data').toString('hex');
const txHash = web3.utils.sha3(txData);

// Hash message for signing (Ethereum Signed Message)
const message = 'Please sign this message';
const messageHash = web3.utils.sha3(
  '\x19Ethereum Signed Message:\n' + message.length + message
);

console.log('Message hash:', messageHash);

Creating Deterministic Identifiers

// Create unique identifier from multiple inputs
function createIdentifier(account, nonce, data) {
  const combined = web3.utils.encodePacked(
    { value: account, type: 'address' },
    { value: nonce, type: 'uint256' },
    { value: data, type: 'bytes' }
  );
  return web3.utils.sha3(combined);
}

const id = createIdentifier(
  '0x742d35Cc6634C0532925a3b844Bc9e7595f0bEb',
  1,
  '0x1234'
);
console.log('Identifier:', id);

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Keccak-256 Details

What is Keccak-256?

Keccak-256 is the cryptographic hash function used in Ethereum and Viction for:

• Address generation: Creating addresses from public keys
• Transaction hashing: Generating unique transaction identifiers
• Storage keys: Computing storage slot locations
• Merkle trees: Building block headers and state tries
• Message signing: Hashing messages before signature

Properties

Deterministic

Same input always produces same output

One-way

Computationally infeasible to reverse

Collision Resistant

Hard to find two inputs with same hash

Fixed Size

Always produces 32-byte (256-bit) output

Hash Collision

// Two different inputs will produce different hashes
const hash1 = web3.utils.sha3('hello world');
const hash2 = web3.utils.sha3('hello world!');

console.log(hash1 === hash2); // false

// Same input always produces same hash
const hash3 = web3.utils.sha3('hello world');
console.log(hash1 === hash3); // true

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Security Considerations

Keccak vs SHA3: The web3_sha3 method uses Keccak-256, NOT the final NIST SHA3-256 standard. These are different algorithms and produce different outputs for the same input.

Input Encoding

Always ensure data is properly hex encoded:

// Correct: hex encoded string
const correctHash = await provider.send('web3_sha3', ['0x68656c6c6f']);

// Incorrect: plain string (will be rejected)
// const incorrectHash = await provider.send('web3_sha3', ['hello']);

Use Web3 Libraries

For production applications, use established libraries rather than calling web3_sha3 directly:

// Recommended: Use library helpers
const hash = web3.utils.keccak256('hello world');

// Less recommended: Direct RPC call
const hashDirect = await provider.send('web3_sha3', ['0x68656c6c6f']);

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Related Methods

eth_sign

Sign messages using account private keys

net_version

Get network version information