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Querying Multiple Contracts

Reading data from multiple contracts is straightforward - simply make multiple view calls. No authentication is required for reading blockchain data.

The View Method​

The wallet's viewMethod function handles read-only calls to contracts:

This method:

  • Connects to the NEAR RPC endpoint
  • Encodes the arguments in base64
  • Queries the contract method
  • Decodes and returns the result

Querying Multiple Contracts​

To read from multiple contracts, simply call viewMethod multiple times:

Breaking It Down​

Query Hello NEAR contract:

const currentGreeting = await wallet.viewMethod({ 
  method: 'get_greeting', 
  contractId: HELLO_ADDRESS 
});

Query Guest Book contract:

// First, get total message count
const totalMessages = await wallet.viewMethod({
  method: 'total_messages', 
  contractId: GUEST_ADDRESS 
});

// Then fetch the last 4 messages
const from_index = (totalMessages > 4 ? totalMessages - 4 : 0).toString();
const latestMessages = await wallet.viewMethod({ 
  method: 'get_messages', 
  contractId: GUEST_ADDRESS, 
  args: { from_index, limit: "4" } 
});

Updating the UI​

Once you have the data, update your interface:

The update_UI function:

  1. Displays the current greeting from Hello NEAR
  2. Iterates through Guest Book messages
  3. Creates table rows with message details (sender, text, premium status)

Key Points​

  • View calls don't require authentication
  • View calls don't cost gas fees
  • Multiple view calls execute independently
  • Failed view calls don't affect other queries
  • Results are returned as JSON

Testing​

You can test querying contracts directly in the browser console:

// Query Hello NEAR
const greeting = await wallet.viewMethod({ 
  method: 'get_greeting', 
  contractId: 'hello.near-examples.testnet' 
});
console.log(greeting);

// Query Guest Book
const messages = await wallet.viewMethod({ 
  method: 'get_messages', 
  contractId: 'guestbook.near-examples.testnet',
  args: { from_index: "0", limit: "10" }
});
console.log(messages);

Now that you can read data from multiple contracts, let's learn how to send transactions to them.