Web3Utils toHex/soliditySha3: Accept Buffer as input or throw error

[gorgos]

Description

I just ran into the issue when using Web3Utils.soliditySha3. I was passing a Buffer as input instead of a String and then the resulting hash was different to the one inside the smart contract. The reason being that Web3Utils.toHex apparently doesn't accept a Buffer as input. However, it didn't throw an error / give a warning or anything.

For anyone reading this, I fixed it by passing a string:

const hexString = '0x' + bytesBuffer.toString('hex')
const hash = Web3Utils.soliditySha3(hexString , someDataString)

Alternatively, you could use https://github.com/ethereumjs/ethereumjs-util/blob/master/docs/README.md#const-buffertohex.

Expected behavior

Calling Web3Utils.soliditySha3/Web3Utils.toHex with Buffer as input should either work as expected or throw an error or at least give a warning. Web3Utils.toHex with a Buffer as input currently returns a very strange, very long result.

Versions

• web3-utils 1.2.1