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How Contracts Work in Racket and What They Actually Do
- When you write a contract in Racket, you’re not just tagging your function with a description of what it should accept or return; you're actually wrapping that function with new behavior that checks every input and output.
- The define/contract form in Racket builds a new version of the function that includes logic for checking the values going in and out every time the function is used.
- Racket uses a system called blame tracking to identify who gave the input and who received the result when a contract violation occurs, making debugging easier.
- Contracts apply to functions passed into other functions or returned from functions, creating wrappers around these inner functions to maintain contract checks.
- Racket runs contract checks every time a value crosses a contract boundary, not just once, ensuring continuous validation.
- Contracts in Racket can be applied to module exports, struct fields, and other values to ensure data integrity and prevent errors at function boundaries.
- Racket's contract system adds mechanisms that stay with the function during the entire program runtime, affecting performance, memory, and processing of function calls.
- Every contract in Racket creates a wrapper function that checks the contract before passing data along, adding extra steps that can impact performance, especially in loops or with nested functions.
- The blame tracking feature in Racket provides detailed information on contract violations, aiding in pinpointing where and why an error occurred in the program.
- Racket contract checks remain active throughout a program's execution, consuming memory and processing power with every wrapped value that passes through.
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