Collection of feature modules that give you granular control over who can manage your contracts and control their operation. Any code submitted to a blockchain is unalterable, therefore once a smart contract has been deployed, a developer can’t go back and implement changes. The architectural solutions in this category provide the opportunity to update a smart contract even after development.

Definition

The Access Control module gives you granular control over who can manage your contracts and control their operation.

• ​Contract Run State gives you ability to pause operation of your smart contract

• ​Administrator Role allows you to define accounts (addresses) that can perform certain administrative functions

• ​Contract Access lets you control which external contracts can interact with your contract

Example

A developer needs to deploy an early iteration of a dapp to the mainnet. They are aware of the limitations on upgradability, but they decide to go around Ethereum’s immutability by using multi-contract architecture. To make sure that they are able to allow upgraded contracts calling into the main one, and restrict unauthorized access, they’ll need to use the Contract Access module.

In the case of a bug in a smart contract:

• Contract Run State allows an administrator to pause the smart contract to avoid various losses

• Administrator Role defines who has the ability to perform functions such as pausing the contract

• Contract Access allows an administrator to control which external contracts can interact with your contract, safeguarding it from unauthorised access

Benefits

By making smart architectural choices, developers can avoid the pitfalls of blockchain and smart contract immutability while still reaping the network’s benefits.

The Access Control module allows:

• Upgradability of a decentralized application even after deployment to mainnet

• Enhanced security in the case of bugs

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