Naming conventions

When implementing Antelope smart contracts and when storing data in an Antelope blockchain, it is important to follow the established Antelope conventions for naming accounts, actions, tables, etc.

Antelope names

• Applies to all Antelope encoded names (accounts, actions, tables, etc.)
• Encoded as a 64-bit unsigned integer (uint64_t) on the blockchain.
• First 12 characters, if any, encoded in base32 using characters: ., 1-5, a-z
• 13th character, if applicable, encoded in base16 using characters: ., 1-5, a-j

Standard account names

• Must contain exactly 12 characters from the base32 set: ., 1-5, a-z
• 13th character not allowed or lesser than 12 characters
• Must start with a lowercase letter a-z
• Must not end in a dot . character

Non-standard account names

• May contain between 1 and 12 characters from the base32 set: ., 1-5, a-z
• 13th character not allowed in account name
• Must not end in a dot . character

Table, struct, class, function (action) names

• May contain between 1 and 13 characters.
• First 12 characters, if any, from the base32 set: ., 1-5, a-z
• 13th character, if any, from the base16 set: ., 1-5, a-j

Format

The figure below showcases a 12 character string formatted into a 64-bit unsigned integer. Note: the 13th char, if any, contains 2⁴ = 16 cases per 1 digit (char): 1 (.) + 5 (1-5) + 10 (a-j).

Encoding and decoding

Antelope name objects can be created, encoded, and decoded via the eosio::name class.

1. To encode an std::string into an Antelope name object, use the appropriate eosio::name() constructor.
2. To encode a char * string literal into an Antelope name object, you can also use the ""_n operator.
3. To decode an Antelope name object into an std::string, use the eosio::to_string() function.

Examples

auto eosio_user = eosio::name{user};  //encodes user string to eosio::name object
auto user_str = user_name_obj.to_string(); //decodes eosio::name obj to string
auto standard_account = "standardname"_n;  //encodes literal string to eosio::name
auto non_standard_account = ".standard"_n; //encodes literal string to eosio::name