incorrectly named argument throws cryptic error when calling contract

[amgando]

steps to recreate

1. use nearlib to call any contract method with incorrect or non-existent named argument

the error will appear in the client-side JS console

why/where/when did this happen?

this happened by accident while following the [Zero to Hero](https://docs.nearprotocol.com/docs/tutorials/zero-to-hero) tutorial in our docs

 // incorrect (will reproduce this error)
 await contract.setResponse(

 { string: "here we are" } 

)

// vs

// correct (will not produce the error)
 await contract.setResponse(

 { apiResponse: "here we are" } 

)

detail

i think this is the right place to submit this since nearlib could handle this error gracefully but i don't see enough information in the error message to be useful to the developer.

failed transaction on TestNet [here](https://explorer.nearprotocol.com/transactions/9c5JPRgKeAdWrw2GW6YChukDHJUxdSw76AQzfAgoNopV)

this error appears in the

Uncaught (in promise) Error: Transaction 9c5JPRgKeAdWrw2GW6YChukDHJUxdSw76AQzfAgoNopV failed. WebAssembly trap: unknown Error: Transaction 9c5JPRgKeAdWrw2GW6YChukDHJUxdSw76AQzfAgoNopV failed. WebAssembly trap: unknown
at Account.signAndSendTransaction (nearlib.js:97)
at async Contract.value <span class="error">[as setResponse]</span> (nearlib.js:294)
at /app/gbgfhnucs/async <anonymous>:1
TypedError @ nearlib.js:763
signAndSendTransaction @ nearlib.js:97

[janedegtiareva]

This is a common developer mistake and currently can be a big devx detractor.

[janedegtiareva]

In NAJ, when we receive the arguments, we can check the arguments. We need contract metadata.

[janedegtiareva]

This needs design. Estimate is for following up with other teams to find out how to do this.

[frol]

Just for the record, currently, the error message is less cryptic:

Error:  Error: Querying call/dev-1614893283391-2068372/get_status failed: wasm execution failed with error: FunctionCallError(HostError(GuestPanic { panic_msg: "panicked at \'Failed to deserialize input from JSON.: Error(\"missing field `account_id`\", line: 1, column: 40)\', src/lib.rs:22:1" })).
{
  "error": "wasm execution failed with error: FunctionCallError(HostError(GuestPanic { panic_msg: \"panicked at \\'Failed to deserialize input from JSON.: Error(\\\"missing field `account_id`\\\", line: 1, column: 40)\\', src/lib.rs:22:1\" }))",
  "logs": [],
  "block_height": 38844509,
  "block_hash": "APNzn7CxYTr2hdV7d29Gtt8KaWgBrGxTiif6pydVHK9n"
}
    at JsonRpcProvider.query (/usr/lib/node_modules/near-shell/node_modules/near-api-js/lib/providers/json-rpc-provider.js:67:19)
    at processTicksAndRejections (node:internal/process/task_queues:94:5)
    at async Account.viewFunction (/usr/lib/node_modules/near-shell/node_modules/near-api-js/lib/account.js:272:24)
    at async exports.callViewFunction (/usr/lib/node_modules/near-shell/index.js:64:48)
    at async Object.handler (/usr/lib/node_modules/near-shell/utils/exit-on-error.js:37:9)

Yet, it depends on how the contract itself reports the error. JSON parser in Rust provides a helpful message while JSON parser in AssemblyScript might be not that friendly. If AssemblyScript contracts still just crash without any message, we need to address it on the near-sdk-as level.

That said, these are errors from inside the smart contract, these two are generated by JSON parser compiled into the contract.

To do anything with that, we need to define some sort of error API layer for the smart contracts just like we discuss the events API, and come up with some helpful magic for the end-users on the SDK side.

[volovyks]

Downgrading to P2 since it's not near-api-js issue.
Further actions:

• wait for Feature: Improve Serialization error messages near-sdk-as#443 to close
• check if the new error is readable, has type, and clear to understand
• close this issue