research: switch from wrapper types to Go native types

[radkomih]

Research if we can remove the wrapper types and instead, switch to the built-in Go types, which is more idiomatic.

sc.Bool => bool
sc.U8 => uint8
...

[radkomih]

When the project initially started, Tinygo's support for reflection was very limited. Therefore, using types that implemented a specific interface with an 'Encode()' method did not require extensive reliance on reflection calls. Thus, instead of using the built-in types (bool, uint8, ..., structs, arrays, slices, and maps), wrapper types were introduced to satisfy the interface.

Currently, there is a helper function 'EncodeEach()' that relies on an Encode() method and interface, which simply calls each field's Encode() method.

• Pros:

  • Does not require extensive reflection calls.
  • Works for custom-defined types.
  • Ensures type safety (requires the Encode() method to be implemented for each field).

• Cons:

  • Not idiomatic (requires wrapper types); does not work for built-in types.
  • Cannot differentiate properly between arrays and slices (both are encoded as slices).

There are different approaches that may allow switching to Go built-in types instead of the wrapper types. Here are some of the most convenient ones:

A. Fork Gossamer's Scale Codec

Make the necessary changes to eliminate the need for certain unsupported reflection calls, see #210.

B. Refactor Our Goscale Codec

Use the helper function 'EncodeEach()', which relies on an encoding function for built-in types and on an interface and encode method for custom-defined types.