Error returning array in function

Question

I wanted to do a get() to return some contract information, including an array, but when I put it gives this error:

browser/leilaoSimples.sol:34:9: TypeError: Data location must be "memory" for return parameter in function, but none was given. uint[] _historicoDeOfertas ^------------------------^

function get() public view returns(
        address _dono,
        uint _contadorDeOfertas,
        address _comprador,
        uint _ultimaOferta,
        uint[] _historicoDeOfertas
    ){
        return(
            dono,
            contadorDeOfertas,
            comprador,
            valorAtual,
            ofertas
        );
    }

Full code (Note: it's in Portuguese)

pragma solidity >=0.5.1 <0.6.0;

contract leilaoSimples{
    uint valorAtual;
    address payable comprador;
    address dono;
    string nome;
    uint contadorDeOfertas = 0;
    uint[] ofertas;

    constructor(uint valorInicial) public{
        valorAtual=valorInicial;
        dono = msg.sender;
    }

    function set() public payable{
        uint oferta = msg.value;
        require(oferta>valorAtual, "Oferta abaixo do valor atual.");
        require(comprador!=msg.sender, "Você deu o último lance.");

        comprador.transfer(valorAtual);

        valorAtual = oferta;
        contadorDeOfertas++;
        ofertas.push(valorAtual);
        comprador = msg.sender;
    }

    function get() public view returns(
        address _dono,
        uint _contadorDeOfertas,
        address _comprador,
        uint _ultimaOferta,
        uint[] _historicoDeOfertas
    ){
        return(
            dono,
            contadorDeOfertas,
            comprador,
            valorAtual,
            ofertas
        );
    }
}

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Sep 18 '19 at 17:56

1

As the error suggests, you have to add a memory keyword for your _historicoDeOfertas return value. So the function signature becomes:

function get() public view returns(
        address _dono,
        uint _contadorDeOfertas,
        address _comprador,
        uint _ultimaOferta,
        uint[] memory _historicoDeOfertas
    ){
        return(
            dono,
            contadorDeOfertas,
            comprador,
            valorAtual,
            ofertas
        );
    }

You can find some explanation about the memory here: What does the keyword "memory" do exactly? and especially in its link here: https://solidity.readthedocs.io/en/develop/introduction-to-smart-contracts.html#storage-memory-and-the-stack

answered Sep 18 '19 at 17:56

Lauri Peltonen

29,391
3
20
57

To be fair, I spent some 20 minutes trying to read different sources about why exactly the memory is required there but I didn't understand it - why couldn't it return a storage pointer? I hope someone else can post a better answer which explains this. – Lauri Peltonen Sep 18 '19 at 18:10
1

Possibly not as precise as you would like...storage (pointers) are acceptable inputs/return values within contracts, so acceptable for functions with internal or private visibility. This is a public function so it can't simply pass a pointer to its internal storage to an external caller. – Rob Hitchens Sep 19 '19 at 02:20

Error returning array in function

1 Answers1