[Ethereum] use ether.js with truffle

MetaMask does host a pre-synced blockchain cluster by default, and does its best to keep it online at all times, but it can easily be changed via the provider menu in the top left of the metamask popup.

If you'd rather use your local json-rpc node, just point MetaMask at its address.

From a security perspective, this allows you to run MetaMask as decentralized as Mist, by pointing it at your local RPC. This will allow you to develop a Dapp that is both Mist and Metamask compatible, and your users will be able to define their own blockchain connections according to their needs.

Creating a dapp is simple once you figure out how to get started with the basics such as accessing smart contracts in Go, and sending transactions.

Here's an example from the Ethereum Development with Go book.

Store.sol

pragma solidity ^0.4.24;

contract Store {
  event ItemSet(bytes32 key, bytes32 value);

  string public version;
  mapping (bytes32 => bytes32) public items;

  constructor(string _version) public {
    version = _version;
  }

  function setItem(bytes32 key, bytes32 value) external {
    items[key] = value;
    emit ItemSet(key, value);
  }
}

Compiliation

solc --abi Store.sol | awk '/JSON ABI/{x=1;next}x' > Store.abi
solc --bin Store.sol | awk '/Binary:/{x=1;next}x' > Store.bin
abigen --bin=Store.bin --abi=Store.abi --pkg=store --out=Store.go

example.go

package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "log"

    "github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/accounts/abi/bind"
    "github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/common"
    "github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/ethclient"

    store "./contracts"
)

func main() {
    client, err := ethclient.Dial("https://rinkeby.infura.io")
    if err != nil {
        log.Fatal(err)
    }

    privateKey, err := crypto.HexToECDSA("fad9c8855b740a0b7ed4c221dbad0f33a83a49cad6b3fe8d5817ac83d38b6a19")
    if err != nil {
        log.Fatal(err)
    }

    publicKey := privateKey.Public()
    publicKeyECDSA, ok := publicKey.(*ecdsa.PublicKey)
    if !ok {
        log.Fatal("error casting public key to ECDSA")
    }

    fromAddress := crypto.PubkeyToAddress(*publicKeyECDSA)
    nonce, err := client.PendingNonceAt(context.Background(), fromAddress)
    if err != nil {
        log.Fatal(err)
    }

    gasPrice, err := client.SuggestGasPrice(context.Background())
    if err != nil {
        log.Fatal(err)
    }

    auth := bind.NewKeyedTransactor(privateKey)
    auth.Nonce = big.NewInt(int64(nonce))
    auth.Value = big.NewInt(0)     // in wei
    auth.GasLimit = uint64(300000) // in units
    auth.GasPrice = gasPrice

    address := common.HexToAddress("0x147B8eb97fD247D06C4006D269c90C1908Fb5D54")
    instance, err := store.NewStore(address, client)
    if err != nil {
        log.Fatal(err)
    }

    key := [32]byte{}
    value := [32]byte{}
    copy(key[:], []byte("foo"))
    copy(value[:], []byte("bar"))

    tx, err := instance.SetItem(auth, key, value)
    if err != nil {
        log.Fatal(err)
    }

    fmt.Printf("tx sent: %s", tx.Hash().Hex()) // tx sent: 0x8d490e535678e9a24360e955d75b27ad307bdfb97a1dca51d0f3035dcee3e870

    result, err := instance.Items(nil, key)
    if err != nil {
        log.Fatal(err)
    }

    fmt.Println(string(result[:])) // "bar"
}