---
title: "What is the Solidity call function?"
description: "Learn How Solidity Call Functions Work"
---

# What is the Solidity call function?

The [Solidity](https://www.alchemy.com/overviews/solidity) programming language is primarily used to create smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain. This article will cover all the details you need to know about what a Solidity call function is.

## **What is the Solidity call function?**

The `call`** function in Solidity is a low level function developers use to interact with other contracts.**

When building a [Solidity smart contract](https://www.alchemy.com/overviews/solidity-smart-contract), the `call` method should be used anytime you want to [interact with another contract](https://www.alchemy.com/overviews/solidity-call-another-contract) from your own contract.

Calls can also be used to execute other functions in the recipient smart contract, using Ether provided by the caller to pay for the transaction. The `call` function also has the advantage of returning the transaction status as a boolean with the return value sent as a variable.

### **What is calldata?**

`Calldata` is a type of temporary storage, containing the data specified in a function’s arguments. The difference between it and memory, another type of temporary storage, is that _calldata_’s immutability—whatever is stored inside `calldata` cannot be changed.

## **How does the Solidity call function work?**

The Solidity call function works by taking `calldata`, which can be zero in the case of a native ETH transfer, and executing that `calldata` on the intended recipient based on the low-level [EVM opcode CALL](https://ethereum.org/en/developers/docs/evm/opcodes/).

When data \(i.e. the function to be called in recipient smart contract\) and gas are provided, the `call` method is able to use these two to execute functions inside smart contracts.

### **How do you use the call method to send ether?**

As one of your [Solidity functions](https://www.alchemy.com/overviews/solidity-functions), you can use the following code into your [Solidity IDE](https://www.alchemy.com/overviews/solidity-ide) of choice and replace the `address payable _to` with the recipient address.

Below is code which creates a contract that is capable of receiving Ether from calls.

### What's the difference between call and delegatecall?

The difference between `call` and `delegatecall` is that `delegatecall` will execute the called function as if its code was entirely part of the smart contract that is doing the calling. In contrast, the `call` method will call the function as it is, as a part of another smart contract. In practice, this means the called function will use the caller's storage, `msg.sender`, and `msg.value`.

### What's the difference between call and transfer?

Transfers have an unchangeable gas limit and will cancel on failure. Calls have a customizable gas limit by using `someAddress.call.value(ethAmount).gas(gasAmount)()` in place of the usual call will return false if the transaction fails.

The `transfer` method is no longer a recommended to use. However, historically, `transfer` was preferred because it uses a built-in limit on gas, which helped [prevent reentrancy exploits](https://www.alchemy.com/overviews/reentrancy-attack-solidity). The immutable gas limit on the transfer method also made it a better choice for computations where you wished to set an upper limit of 2300 gas.

## **How to learn more about the Solidity call method**

To [continue learning about Solidity calls](https://www.alchemy.com/overviews/learn-solidity), secure your spot in Alchemy University's free, online Solidity developer crash course. This 7-week, [asynchronous Ethereum bootcamp](https://university.alchemy.com/?a=5f566a8c97) has been redesigned after Alchemy's acquisition of the leading Ethereum education company, ChainShot.

If developers are new to development in general, Alchemy University's [**3-week JavaScript crash course**](https://www.alchemy.com/university/courses/js) is a great prerequisite before starting an Ethereum bootcamp.