internal/ethapi: optimize & clean up EstimateGas (#27710)

Optimizations:

- Previously, if a transaction was reverting, EstimateGas would exhibit worst-case behavior and binary search up to the max gas limit (~40 state-clone + tx executions). This change allows EstimateGas to return after only a single unconstrained execution in this scenario.
- Uses the gas used from the unconstrained execution to bias the remaining binary search towards the likely solution in a simple way that doesn't impact the worst case. For a typical contract-invoking transaction, this reduces the median number of state-clone+executions from 25 to 18 (28% reduction).

Cleanup:

- added & improved function + code comments
- correct the EstimateGas documentation to clarify the gas limit determination is at latest block, not pending, if the blockNr is unspecified.

internal/ethapi/api.go

@@ -1162,12 +1162,30 @@ func (s *BlockChainAPI) Call(ctx context.Context, args TransactionArgs, blockNrO
 	return result.Return(), result.Err
 }
 
+// executeEstimate is a helper that executes the transaction under a given gas limit and returns
+// true if the transaction fails for a reason that might be related to not enough gas. A non-nil
+// error means execution failed due to reasons unrelated to the gas limit.
+func executeEstimate(ctx context.Context, b Backend, args TransactionArgs, state *state.StateDB, header *types.Header, gasCap uint64, gasLimit uint64) (bool, *core.ExecutionResult, error) {
+	args.Gas = (*hexutil.Uint64)(&gasLimit)
+	result, err := doCall(ctx, b, args, state, header, nil, nil, 0, gasCap)
+	if err != nil {
+		if errors.Is(err, core.ErrIntrinsicGas) {
+			return true, nil, nil // Special case, raise gas limit
+		}
+		return true, nil, err // Bail out
+	}
+	return result.Failed(), result, nil
+}
+
+// DoEstimateGas returns the lowest possible gas limit that allows the transaction to run
+// successfully at block `blockNrOrHash`. It returns error if the transaction would revert, or if
+// there are unexpected failures. The gas limit is capped by both `args.Gas` (if non-nil &
+// non-zero) and `gasCap` (if non-zero).
 func DoEstimateGas(ctx context.Context, b Backend, args TransactionArgs, blockNrOrHash rpc.BlockNumberOrHash, overrides *StateOverride, gasCap uint64) (hexutil.Uint64, error) {
-	// Binary search the gas requirement, as it may be higher than the amount used
+	// Binary search the gas limit, as it may need to be higher than the amount used
 	var (
-		lo  uint64 = params.TxGas - 1
+		lo uint64 // lowest-known gas limit where tx execution fails
-		hi  uint64
+		hi uint64 // lowest-known gas limit where tx execution succeeds
-		cap uint64
 	)
 	// Use zero address if sender unspecified.
 	if args.From == nil {
@@ -1198,16 +1216,17 @@ func DoEstimateGas(ctx context.Context, b Backend, args TransactionArgs, blockNr
 	} else {
 		feeCap = common.Big0
 	}
+
+	state, header, err := b.StateAndHeaderByNumberOrHash(ctx, blockNrOrHash)
+	if state == nil || err != nil {
+		return 0, err
+	}
+	if err := overrides.Apply(state); err != nil {
+		return 0, err
+	}
+
 	// Recap the highest gas limit with account's available balance.
 	if feeCap.BitLen() != 0 {
-		state, _, err := b.StateAndHeaderByNumberOrHash(ctx, blockNrOrHash)
-		if err != nil {
-			return 0, err
-		}
-		err = overrides.Apply(state)
-		if err != nil {
-			return 0, err
-		}
 		balance := state.GetBalance(*args.From) // from can't be nil
 		available := new(big.Int).Set(balance)
 		if args.Value != nil {
@@ -1234,50 +1253,10 @@ func DoEstimateGas(ctx context.Context, b Backend, args TransactionArgs, blockNr
 		log.Warn("Caller gas above allowance, capping", "requested", hi, "cap", gasCap)
 		hi = gasCap
 	}
-	cap = hi
 
-	// Create a helper to check if a gas allowance results in an executable transaction
+	// We first execute the transaction at the highest allowable gas limit, since if this fails we
-	executable := func(gas uint64, state *state.StateDB, header *types.Header) (bool, *core.ExecutionResult, error) {
+	// can return error immediately.
-		args.Gas = (*hexutil.Uint64)(&gas)
+	failed, result, err := executeEstimate(ctx, b, args, state.Copy(), header, gasCap, hi)
-
-		result, err := doCall(ctx, b, args, state, header, nil, nil, 0, gasCap)
-		if err != nil {
-			if errors.Is(err, core.ErrIntrinsicGas) {
-				return true, nil, nil // Special case, raise gas limit
-			}
-			return true, nil, err // Bail out
-		}
-		return result.Failed(), result, nil
-	}
-	state, header, err := b.StateAndHeaderByNumberOrHash(ctx, blockNrOrHash)
-	if state == nil || err != nil {
-		return 0, err
-	}
-	err = overrides.Apply(state)
-	if err != nil {
-		return 0, err
-	}
-	// Execute the binary search and hone in on an executable gas limit
-	for lo+1 < hi {
-		s := state.Copy()
-		mid := (hi + lo) / 2
-		failed, _, err := executable(mid, s, header)
-
-		// If the error is not nil(consensus error), it means the provided message
-		// call or transaction will never be accepted no matter how much gas it is
-		// assigned. Return the error directly, don't struggle any more.
-		if err != nil {
-			return 0, err
-		}
-		if failed {
-			lo = mid
-		} else {
-			hi = mid
-		}
-	}
-	// Reject the transaction as invalid if it still fails at the highest allowance
-	if hi == cap {
-		failed, result, err := executable(hi, state, header)
 	if err != nil {
 		return 0, err
 	}
@@ -1288,15 +1267,44 @@ func DoEstimateGas(ctx context.Context, b Backend, args TransactionArgs, blockNr
 			}
 			return 0, result.Err
 		}
-			// Otherwise, the specified gas cap is too low
+		return 0, fmt.Errorf("gas required exceeds allowance (%d)", hi)
-			return 0, fmt.Errorf("gas required exceeds allowance (%d)", cap)
+	}
+	// For almost any transaction, the gas consumed by the unconstrained execution above
+	// lower-bounds the gas limit required for it to succeed. One exception is those txs that
+	// explicitly check gas remaining in order to successfully execute within a given limit, but we
+	// probably don't want to return a lowest possible gas limit for these cases anyway.
+	lo = result.UsedGas - 1
+
+	// Binary search for the smallest gas limit that allows the tx to execute successfully.
+	for lo+1 < hi {
+		mid := (hi + lo) / 2
+		if mid > lo*2 {
+			// Most txs don't need much higher gas limit than their gas used, and most txs don't
+			// require near the full block limit of gas, so the selection of where to bisect the
+			// range here is skewed to favor the low side.
+			mid = lo * 2
+		}
+		failed, _, err = executeEstimate(ctx, b, args, state.Copy(), header, gasCap, mid)
+		if err != nil {
+			// This should not happen under normal conditions since if we make it this far the
+			// transaction had run without error at least once before.
+			log.Error("execution error in estimate gas", "err", err)
+			return 0, err
+		}
+		if failed {
+			lo = mid
+		} else {
+			hi = mid
 		}
 	}
 	return hexutil.Uint64(hi), nil
 }
 
-// EstimateGas returns an estimate of the amount of gas needed to execute the
+// EstimateGas returns the lowest possible gas limit that allows the transaction to run
-// given transaction against the current pending block.
+// successfully at block `blockNrOrHash`, or the latest block if `blockNrOrHash` is unspecified. It
+// returns error if the transaction would revert or if there are unexpected failures. The returned
+// value is capped by both `args.Gas` (if non-nil & non-zero) and the backend's RPCGasCap
+// configuration (if non-zero).
 func (s *BlockChainAPI) EstimateGas(ctx context.Context, args TransactionArgs, blockNrOrHash *rpc.BlockNumberOrHash, overrides *StateOverride) (hexutil.Uint64, error) {
 	bNrOrHash := rpc.BlockNumberOrHashWithNumber(rpc.LatestBlockNumber)
 	if blockNrOrHash != nil {