What is Contract Action

Contract action is a specific request to the smart contract that activates a particular function in its code. It results in the contract following the instructions (laws) defined by the agreement.

Simply put, an action is taken to make the contract perform a particular task as instructed by code. In programming, these actions are known as calls.

A traditional paper-based contract does not directly control participants' involvement. This may result in the document being misused by the parties for personal gain. On the other hand, smart contracts ensure that parties take actions defined by their terms concurrently.

This is done through the code, the governing law of the smart contract. It guarantees that the necessary contract action is taken before another one.

Although the way the actions (calls) to the contract are made is similar, the result of each is different. Some contract actions cause the contract to change its state after completing a specified instruction. Other actions do not. It depends on whether or not the contract is on the blockchain. if so, the action requests a blockchain transaction*, and the changes are caused to the contract state.

Important!

All contract actions are irreversible and should be carefully considered before being taken.

The Zenland contract is governed by eight different actions. Taken by both parties, these actions create, approve, fulfill or dispute the terms.

For more information, refer to the specific contract action contained in the current section.

Good to know

Blockchain transactions are processed by nodes (individual computers) and require a fee known as a gas fee.

More on gas fees and why they exist can be found in "What is Network".