😮Gas Saving Technique 13: variables default to 0

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Introduction

In the realm of smart contract development, every gas unit saved is crucial. One straightforward yet often overlooked optimization technique is avoiding redundant initialization of variables. By understanding and leveraging the default values of variable types in Solidity, developers can write cleaner code and achieve minor gas savings.

Impact & Details

Understanding Gas Consumption

• Redundant Initialization Cost: Initializing variables to their default values, like setting bool variables to false or uint256 variables to 0, introduces unnecessary operations and thereby consumes extra gas.

• Default Values: In Solidity, uninitialized bool variables default to false, and uint256 variables default to 0. Being aware of these defaults allows for cleaner and more gas-efficient code.

How to Avoid Redundant Initialization for Gas Savings

Practical Example: Removing Redundant Initialization

Consider the following smart contract snippet before and after optimization:

Before Optimization:

solidityCopy code// SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
pragma solidity ^0.8.0;

contract MyContract {
    bool transferSuccess = false;  // Redundant initialization
    uint256 public periodFinish = 0;  // Redundant initialization
    uint256 public rewardRate = 0;  // Redundant initialization
}

After Optimization:

solidityCopy code// SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
pragma solidity ^0.8.0;

contract MyContract {
    bool transferSuccess;  // Defaults to false
    uint256 public periodFinish;  // Defaults to 0
    uint256 public rewardRate;  // Defaults to 0
}

In the optimized version, redundant initializations are removed, and the contract relies on default values, resulting in slightly less gas consumption and cleaner code.

Recommended Mitigation Steps

1. Identify Redundant Initializations: Scan your smart contracts for variables being initialized to default values.

2. Remove Redundant Initializations: Omit explicit initialization for variables when you intend to set them to their default values.

3. Test: Conduct rigorous testing to ensure that the removal of explicit initializations does not affect the contract’s expected behavior while facilitating minor gas savings.

Conclusion

Avoiding redundant initializations by relying on variable default values is a straightforward and effective optimization technique for gas saving in smart contract development. Although the savings per transaction might be minor, the overall savings across many transactions can be more significant. After making these changes, always ensure to test the smart contract meticulously to ensure it functions as expected while consuming slightly less gas.