How do I convert the address returned from my smart contract into a readable string?

Question

I have simple get function that returns an address. On the front end in JS, I want to convert this address into some sort of readable function, namely a string.

After migrating my contract, I use web3 to use the function to return an address. However, I'm having troubles reading it. I'm hoping to avoid converting it into a string in the .sol file as to avoid unnecessary gas usage.

This is the function in the smart contract

function getBookAccounts() public returns(address){
   return bookAccount;
}

Here is the JS file trying to console log the address

async showAccounts() {
    const contract = require('truffle-contract')
    const simpleStorage = contract(SimpleStorageContract)
    simpleStorage.setProvider(this.state.web3.currentProvider)

    var currAccount = await this.simpleStorageInstance.getBookAccounts();

    console.log('The address is ', currAccount)
}

Unfortunately, I can't print this address. I'm guessing I need to convert it into a string rather than a UTF8 as is used in solidity.

Answer 1

Make sure your Solidity function is marked as a view. Otherwise the default behavior of web3.js is to send a transaction, and you're probably getting back a transaction hash. (Transactions don't have return values.)

function getBookAccounts() public view returns (address) {

If you change the function to a view, web3.js should make a call instead of sending a transaction. This is faster, requires no gas, and can return a value.