14.4 First-Class Units

The define-unit form combines define with a unit form, similar to the way that (define (f x) ....) combines define followed by an identifier with an implicit lambda.

Expanding the shorthand, the definition of toy-store@ could almost be written as

  (define toy-store@
    (unit
     (import toy-factory^)
     (export toy-store^)
  
     (define inventory null)
  
     (define (store-color) 'green)
     ....))

A difference between this expansion and define-unit is that the imports and exports of toy-store@ cannot be inferred. That is, besides combining define and unit, define-unit attaches static information to the defined identifier so that its signature information is available statically to define-values/invoke-unit/infer and other forms.

Despite the drawback of losing static signature information, unit can be useful in combination with other forms that work with first-class values. For example, we could wrap a unit that creates a toy store in a lambda to supply the store’s color:

"toy-store-maker.rkt"

#lang racket
 
(require "toy-store-sig.rkt"
         "toy-factory-sig.rkt")
 
(define toy-store@-maker
  (lambda (the-color)
   (unit
    (import toy-factory^)
    (export toy-store^)
 
    (define inventory null)
 
    (define (store-color) the-color)
 
    ; the rest is the same as before
 
    (define (maybe-repaint t)
      (if (eq? (toy-color t) (store-color))
          t
          (repaint t (store-color))))
 
    (define (stock! n)
      (set! inventory
            (append inventory
                    (map maybe-repaint
                         (build-toys n)))))
 
    (define (get-inventory) inventory))))
 
(provide toy-store@-maker)

To invoke a unit created by toy-store@-maker, we must use define-values/invoke-unit, instead of the /infer variant:

  > (require "simple-factory-unit.rkt")
  > (define-values/invoke-unit/infer simple-factory@)

  Factory started.

  > (require "toy-store-maker.rkt")
  > (define-values/invoke-unit (toy-store@-maker 'purple)
      (import toy-factory^)
      (export toy-store^))
  > (stock! 2)
  > (get-inventory)

  (list (toy 'purple) (toy 'purple))

In the define-values/invoke-unit form, the (import toy-factory^) line takes bindings from the current context that match the names in toy-factory^ (the ones that we created by invoking simple-factory@), and it supplies them as imports to toy-store@. The (export toy-store^) clause indicates that the unit produced by toy-store@-maker will export toy-store^, and the names from that signature are defined after invoking the unit.

To link a unit from toy-store@-maker, we can use the compound-unit form:

  > (require "store-specific-factory-unit.rkt")
  > (define toy-store+factory@
      (compound-unit
       (import)
       (export TF TS)
       (link [((TF : toy-factory^)) store-specific-factory@ TS]
             [((TS : toy-store^)) toy-store@ TF])))

This compound-unit form packs a lot of information into one place. The left-hand-side TF and TS in the link clause are binding identifiers. The identifier TF is essentially bound to the elements of toy-factory^ as implemented by store-specific-factory@. The identifier TS is similarly bound to the elements of toy-store^ as implemented by toy-store@. Meanwhile, the elements bound to TS are supplied as imports for store-specific-factory@, since TS follows store-specific-factory@. The elements bound to TF are similarly supplied to toy-store@. Finally, (export TF TS) indicates that the elements bound to TF and TS are exported from the compound unit.

The above compound-unit form uses store-specific-factory@ as a first-class unit, even though its information could be inferred. Every unit can be used as a first-class unit, in addition to its use in inference contexts. Also, various forms let a programmer bridge the gap between inferred and first-class worlds. For example, define-unit-binding binds a new identifier to the unit produced by an arbitrary expression; it statically associates signature information to the identifier, and it dynamically checks the signatures against the first-class unit produced by the expression.