Updating the flow

We now need to update our flow to achieve three things:

  • Verifying that the transaction proposal we build fulfills the IOUContract constraints
  • Updating the lender’s side of the flow to request the borrower’s signature
  • Creating a response flow for the borrower that responds to the signature request from the lender

We’ll do this by modifying the flow we wrote in the previous tutorial.

Verifying the transaction

In IOUFlow.java/Flows.kt, change the imports block to the following:

import co.paralleluniverse.fibers.Suspendable
import net.corda.core.contracts.Command
import net.corda.core.flows.CollectSignaturesFlow
import net.corda.core.flows.FinalityFlow
import net.corda.core.flows.FlowLogic
import net.corda.core.flows.InitiatingFlow
import net.corda.core.flows.StartableByRPC
import net.corda.core.identity.Party
import net.corda.core.transactions.TransactionBuilder
import net.corda.core.utilities.ProgressTracker

import co.paralleluniverse.fibers.Suspendable;
import net.corda.core.contracts.Command;
import net.corda.core.flows.*;
import net.corda.core.identity.Party;
import net.corda.core.transactions.SignedTransaction;
import net.corda.core.transactions.TransactionBuilder;
import net.corda.core.utilities.ProgressTracker;

import java.security.PublicKey;
import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.List;

And update IOUFlow.call to the following:

// We retrieve the notary identity from the network map.
val notary = serviceHub.networkMapCache.notaryIdentities[0]

// We create the transaction components.
val outputState = IOUState(iouValue, ourIdentity, otherParty)
val command = Command(IOUContract.Create(), listOf(ourIdentity.owningKey, otherParty.owningKey))

// We create a transaction builder and add the components.
val txBuilder = TransactionBuilder(notary = notary)
        .addOutputState(outputState, IOUContract.ID)
        .addCommand(command)

// Verifying the transaction.
txBuilder.verify(serviceHub)

// Signing the transaction.
val signedTx = serviceHub.signInitialTransaction(txBuilder)

// Creating a session with the other party.
val otherPartySession = initiateFlow(otherParty)

// Obtaining the counterparty's signature.
val fullySignedTx = subFlow(CollectSignaturesFlow(signedTx, listOf(otherPartySession), CollectSignaturesFlow.tracker()))

// Finalising the transaction.
subFlow(FinalityFlow(fullySignedTx, otherPartySession))

// We retrieve the notary identity from the network map.
Party notary = getServiceHub().getNetworkMapCache().getNotaryIdentities().get(0);

// We create the transaction components.
IOUState outputState = new IOUState(iouValue, getOurIdentity(), otherParty);
List<PublicKey> requiredSigners = Arrays.asList(getOurIdentity().getOwningKey(), otherParty.getOwningKey());
Command command = new Command<>(new IOUContract.Create(), requiredSigners);

// We create a transaction builder and add the components.
TransactionBuilder txBuilder = new TransactionBuilder(notary)
        .addOutputState(outputState, IOUContract.ID)
        .addCommand(command);

// Verifying the transaction.
txBuilder.verify(getServiceHub());

// Signing the transaction.
SignedTransaction signedTx = getServiceHub().signInitialTransaction(txBuilder);

// Creating a session with the other party.
FlowSession otherPartySession = initiateFlow(otherParty);

// Obtaining the counterparty's signature.
SignedTransaction fullySignedTx = subFlow(new CollectSignaturesFlow(
        signedTx, Arrays.asList(otherPartySession), CollectSignaturesFlow.tracker()));

// Finalising the transaction.
subFlow(new FinalityFlow(fullySignedTx, otherPartySession));

return null;

In the original CorDapp, we automated the process of notarising a transaction and recording it in every party’s vault by invoking a built-in flow called FinalityFlow as a subflow. We’re going to use another pre-defined flow, CollectSignaturesFlow, to gather the borrower’s signature.

First, we need to update the command. We are now using IOUContract.Create, rather than TemplateContract.Commands.Action. We also want to make the borrower a required signer, as per the contract constraints. This is as simple as adding the borrower’s public key to the transaction’s command.

We also need to add the output state to the transaction using a reference to the IOUContract, instead of to the old TemplateContract.

Now that our state is governed by a real contract, we’ll want to check that our transaction proposal satisfies these requirements before kicking off the signing process. We do this by calling TransactionBuilder.verify on our transaction proposal before finalising it by adding our signature.

Requesting the borrower’s signature

Previously we wrote a responder flow for the borrower in order to receive the finalised transaction from the lender. We use this same flow to first request their signature over the transaction.

We gather the borrower’s signature using CollectSignaturesFlow, which takes:

  • A transaction signed by the flow initiator
  • A list of flow-sessions between the flow initiator and the required signers

And returns a transaction signed by all the required signers.

We can then pass this fully-signed transaction into FinalityFlow.

Updating the borrower’s flow

On the lender’s side, we used CollectSignaturesFlow to automate the collection of signatures. To allow the borrower to respond, we need to update its responder flow to first receive the partially signed transaction for signing. Update IOUFlowResponder.call to be the following:

@Suspendable
override fun call() {
    val signTransactionFlow = object : SignTransactionFlow(otherPartySession) {
        override fun checkTransaction(stx: SignedTransaction) = requireThat {
            val output = stx.tx.outputs.single().data
            "This must be an IOU transaction." using (output is IOUState)
            val iou = output as IOUState
            "The IOU's value can't be too high." using (iou.value < 100)
        }
    }

    val expectedTxId = subFlow(signTransactionFlow).id

    subFlow(ReceiveFinalityFlow(otherPartySession, expectedTxId))
}

@Suspendable
@Override
public Void call() throws FlowException {
    class SignTxFlow extends SignTransactionFlow {
        private SignTxFlow(FlowSession otherPartySession) {
            super(otherPartySession);
        }

        @Override
        protected void checkTransaction(SignedTransaction stx) {
            requireThat(require -> {
                ContractState output = stx.getTx().getOutputs().get(0).getData();
                require.using("This must be an IOU transaction.", output instanceof IOUState);
                IOUState iou = (IOUState) output;
                require.using("The IOU's value can't be too high.", iou.getValue() < 100);
                return null;
            });
        }
    }

    SecureHash expectedTxId = subFlow(new SignTxFlow(otherPartySession)).getId();

    subFlow(new ReceiveFinalityFlow(otherPartySession, expectedTxId));

    return null;
}

We could write our own flow to handle this process. However, there is also a pre-defined flow called SignTransactionFlow that can handle the process automatically. The only catch is that SignTransactionFlow is an abstract class - we must subclass it and override SignTransactionFlow.checkTransaction.

CheckTransactions

SignTransactionFlow will automatically verify the transaction and its signatures before signing it. However, just because a transaction is contractually valid doesn’t mean we necessarily want to sign. What if we don’t want to deal with the counterparty in question, or the value is too high, or we’re not happy with the transaction’s structure?

Overriding SignTransactionFlow.checkTransaction allows us to define these additional checks. In our case, we are checking that:

  • The transaction involves an IOUState - this ensures that IOUContract will be run to verify the transaction
  • The IOU’s value is less than some amount (100 in this case)

If either of these conditions are not met, we will not sign the transaction - even if the transaction and its signatures are contractually valid.

Once we’ve defined the SignTransactionFlow subclass, we invoke it using FlowLogic.subFlow, and the communication with the borrower’s and the lender’s flow is conducted automatically.

SignedTransactionFlow returns the newly signed transaction. We pass in the transaction’s ID to ReceiveFinalityFlow to ensure we are recording the correct notarised transaction from the lender.

Conclusion

We have now updated our flow to verify the transaction and gather the lender’s signature, in line with the constraints defined in IOUContract. We can now re-run our updated CorDapp, using the same instructions as before.

Our CorDapp now imposes restrictions on the issuance of IOUs. Most importantly, IOU issuance now requires agreement from both the lender and the borrower before an IOU can be created on the blockchain. This prevents either the lender or the borrower from unilaterally updating the ledger in a way that only benefits themselves.

After completing this tutorial, your CorDapp should look like this:

You should now be ready to develop your own CorDapps. You can also find a list of sample CorDapps here. As you write CorDapps, you’ll also want to learn more about the Corda API.

If you get stuck at any point, please reach out on Slack or Stack Overflow.