System and method for interactively debugging WebAssembly code

A method for interactively debugging code in non-native format inside native executables, the method comprising:

• converting source code of a smart contract in non-native format into a native binary in a format of a shared library that is functionally equivalent to the non-native format that would be executed on a blockchain;
• loading the shared library by a blockchain host executable when ready to load smart contract code for execution, wherein execution control is passed to the shared library to execute the smart contract code as native instructions;
• attaching an interactive debugger to the host executable for debugging the smart contract code,
• wherein the smart contract source code lines are visible and controllable from within the interactive debugger;
• wherein converting the source code of the smart contract code into the native binary in the format of the shared library and the equivalent non-native binary produces functionally equivalent code that is verifiable as both versions execute identically within the blockchain host executable that is a deterministic state machine and
• produce identical outputs for given inputs facilitating use of debugging information made available by the native shared library binaries via the interactive debugger for further developing the smart contract;
• and
• automatically inserting execution traces in the smart contract code prior to code compilation without changing the base behaviour of the smart contract code.