Tolk vs FunC: standard library

FunC includes a low-level standard library in the stdlib.fc file, containing asm functions closely tied to TVM instructions.

Tolk provides a standard library based on FunC’s with three main differences.

1. It is split into multiple files: common.tolk, tvm-dicts.tolk, and others. Functions from common.tolk are available, while functions from other files require an import:

   import "@stdlib/tvm-dicts"
   
   beginCell()          // always available
   createEmptyDict()    // available due to import
   

2. No separate download from GitHub; is required; the library is included in the Tolk distribution.

3. Tolk has functions and methods which are called using the dot operator. Many global FunC functions became methods of builders, slices, and other types, and can no longer be called as functions.

Functions vs methods

In FunC, there are no methods. All functions are globally scoped. Any function can be called using the dot operator:

;; FunC
cell config_param(int x) asm "CONFIGOPTPARAM";

config_param(16);   ;; ok
16.config_param();  ;; also ok

Calling b.end_cell() invokes the global function end_cell. Since all functions are global, there are no “short methods”:

someTuple.tuple_size();
;; why not someTuple.size()? because it's a global function:
;; int tuple_size(tuple t)

Tolk separates functions and methods, as in most languages:

1. Functions cannot be called with the dot operator; only methods can.
2. Methods can have short names without conflicts.

// FunC
someCell.cell_hash();     // or cell_hash(someCell)
someSlice.slice_hash();

// Tolk
someCell.hash();          // the only possible
someSlice.hash();

Renamed functions

In the table below, if the Required import column is empty, the function is available without imports.

Some functions were removed because they can be expressed syntactically or are rarely used in practice.

FunC uses snake_case, for example, begin_cell, while Tolk methods use camelCase, for example, beginCell.

The table follows the order in which functions appear in stdlib.fc.

FunC name	Tolk name	Required import
empty_tuple	createEmptyTuple
t~tpush	t.push(v)
first(t) or t.first()	t.first()
at(t,i) or t.at(i)	t.get(i), t.0, etc.
touch(v)	v.stackMoveToTop()	TVM low-level
impure_touch	(deleted)
single	(deleted)
unsingle	(deleted)
pair	(deleted)
unpair	(deleted)
triple	(deleted)
untriple	(deleted)
tuple4	(deleted)
untuple4	(deleted)
second	(deleted)
third	(deleted)
fourth	(deleted)
pair_first	(deleted)
pair_second	(deleted)
triple_first	(deleted)
triple_second	(deleted)
triple_third	(deleted)
minmax	minMax
now	blockchain.now
my_address	contract.getAddress
get_balance + pair_first	contract.getOriginalBalance
cur_lt	blockchain.logicalTime
block_lt	blockchain.currentBlockLogicalTime
cell_hash(c)	c.hash()
slice_hash(s)	s.hash()
string_hash(s)	s.bitsHash()
check_signature	isSignatureValid
check_data_signature	isSliceSignatureValid
compute_data_size(c)	c.calculateSizeStrict()
slice_compute_data_size(s)	s.calculateSizeStrict()
c.compute_data_size?()	c.calculateSize()
slice_compute_data_size?()	s.calculateSize()
~dump	debug.print
~strdump	debug.printString
dump_stack	debug.dumpStack
get_data	contract.getData
set_data	contract.setData
get_c3	getTvmRegisterC3	TVM low-level
set_c3	setTvmRegisterC3	TVM low-level
bless	transformSliceToContinuation	TVM low-level
accept_message	acceptExternalMessage
set_gas_limit	setGasLimit
buy_gas	(deleted)
commit	commitContractDataAndActions
divmod	divMod
moddiv	modDiv
muldiv	mulDivFloor
muldivr	mulDivRound
muldivc	mulDivCeil
muldivmod	mulDivMod
begin_parse	beginParse
end_parse(s)	s.assertEnd()
load_ref	loadRef
preload_ref	preloadRef
load_int	loadInt
load_uint	loadUint
preload_int	preloadInt
preload_uint	preloadUint
load_bits	loadBits
preload_bits	preloadBits
load_grams	loadCoins
load_coins	loadCoins
skip_bits	s.skipBits
first_bits	getFirstBits
skip_last_bits	removeLastBits
slice_last	getLastBits
load_dict	loadDict
preload_dict	preloadDict
skip_dict	skipDict
load_maybe_ref	loadMaybeRef
preload_maybe_ref	preloadMaybeRef
cell_depth(c)	c.depth()
slice_refs(s)	s.remainingRefsCount()
slice_bits(s)	s.remainingBitsCount()
slice_bits_refs(s)	s.remainingBitsAndRefsCount()
slice_empty?(s)	s.isEmpty()
slice_data_empty?(s)	s.isEndOfBits()
slice_refs_empty?(s)	s.isEndOfRefs()
slice_depth(s)	s.depth()
equal_slice_bits(a,b)	a.bitsEqual(b)
builder_refs(b)	b.refsCount()
builder_bits(b)	b.bitsCount()
builder_depth(b)	b.depth()
begin_cell	beginCell
end_cell	endCell
store_ref	storeRef
store_uint	storeUint
store_int	storeInt
store_slice	storeSlice
store_grams	storeCoins
store_coins	storeCoins
store_dict	storeDict
store_maybe_ref	storeMaybeRef
store_builder	storeBuilder
load_msg_addr	loadAddress
parse_addr	(deleted)
parse_std_addr	parseStandardAddress
parse_var_addr	(deleted)
config_param	blockchain.configParam
raw_reserve	reserveToncoinsOnBalance
raw_reserve_extra	reserveExtraCurrenciesOnBalance
send_raw_message	sendRawMessage
set_code	contract.setCodePostponed
random	random.uint256
rand	random.range
get_seed	random.getSeed
set_seed	random.setSeed
randomize	random.initializeBy
randomize_lt	random.initialize
dump	debug.print
strdump	debug.printString
dump_stk	debug.dumpStack
empty_list	createEmptyList	lisp-lists
cons	listPrepend	lisp-lists
uncons	listSplit	lisp-lists
list_next	listNext	lisp-lists
car	listGetHead	lisp-lists
cdr	listGetTail	lisp-lists
new_dict	createEmptyMap
dict_empty?(d)	m.isEmpty
pfxdict_get?	prefixDictGet	TVM dicts
pfxdict_set?	prefixDictSet	TVM dicts
pfxdict_delete?	prefixDictDelete	TVM dicts
idict_set_ref	use native maps
udict_set_ref	use native maps
idict_get_ref	use native maps
idict_get_ref?	use native maps
udict_get_ref?	use native maps
idict_set_get_ref	use native maps
udict_set_get_ref	use native maps
idict_delete?	use native maps
udict_delete?	use native maps
idict_get?	use native maps
udict_get?	use native maps
idict_delete_get?	use native maps
udict_delete_get?	use native maps
udict_set	use native maps
idict_set	use native maps
dict_set	use native maps
udict_add?	use native maps
udict_replace?	use native maps
idict_add?	use native maps
idict_replace?	use native maps
udict_set_builder	use native maps
idict_set_builder	use native maps
dict_set_builder	use native maps
udict_add_builder?	use native maps
udict_replace_builder?	use native maps
idict_add_builder?	use native maps
idict_replace_builder?	use native maps
udict_delete_get_min	use native maps
idict_delete_get_min	use native maps
dict_delete_get_min	use native maps
udict_delete_get_max	use native maps
idict_delete_get_max	use native maps
dict_delete_get_max	use native maps
udict_get_min?	use native maps
udict_get_max?	use native maps
udict_get_min_ref?	use native maps
udict_get_max_ref?	use native maps
idict_get_min?	use native maps
idict_get_max?	use native maps
idict_get_min_ref?	use native maps
idict_get_max_ref?	use native maps
udict_get_next?	use native maps
udict_get_nexteq?	use native maps
udict_get_prev?	use native maps
udict_get_preveq?	use native maps
idict_get_next?	use native maps
idict_get_nexteq?	use native maps
idict_get_prev?	use native maps
idict_get_preveq?	use native maps
udict::delete_get_min	use native maps
idict::delete_get_min	use native maps
dict::delete_get_min	use native maps
udict::delete_get_max	use native maps
idict::delete_get_max	use native maps
dict::delete_get_max	use native maps

Added functions

Some functions from FunC are missing in Tolk’s standard library, but it works well for everyday tasks.

Tolk is evolving, and its standard library is continually updated over time. Check the tolk-stdlib/ folder in the source code. In addition to functions, some constants are added, such as SEND_MODE_* and RESERVE_MODE_*.

All of these functions are wrappers over TVM assembler instructions. Missing functionality can be implemented by manually wrapping any TVM instruction.

Mutating functions

Many FunC functions that used the ~ tilde now mutate the object in Tolk rather than returning a copy.

FunC	Tolk
int flags = cs~load_uint(32);	var flags = cs.loadUint(32);
…	…

• If cs~load_uint(…) was used, use cs.loadUint(…) and everything works.
• If cs.load_uint(…) was used to get a copy, a different approach is needed. Read about mutability.

How the embedded stdlib works

All standard library functions are available out of the box. Non-common functions require an import, but no external downloads are needed.

Here’s how it works:

1. The Tolk compiler locates the stdlib folder by searching predefined paths relative to an executable binary.

   For example, when the Tolk compiler is launched from a system-installed package, e.g., /usr/bin/tolk, the stdlib is located in /usr/share/ton/smartcont.

   For custom installations, the TOLK_STDLIB environment variable can be set. This is standard practice for compilers.

2. The WASM wrapper tolk-js also includes the stdlib, so all stdlib functions are available out of the box when using tolk-js directly or through blueprint.

3. JetBrains and VS Code IDE plugins automatically locate the stdlib to provide auto-completion.

   Blueprint installs tolk-js automatically, creating the node_modules/@ton/tolk-js/ folder in the project structure.

   It contains common.tolk, tvm-dicts.tolk, and other stdlib files.