1.5 Implementations
The definition of Racket aims for determinism and independence from its implementation. Nevertheless, some details inevitably vary with the implementation. Racket currently has two main implementations:
The CS implementation is the default implementation as of Racket version 8.0. This variant is called “CS” because it uses Chez Scheme as its core compiler and runtime system.
The CS implementation typically provides the best performance for Racket programs. Compiled Racket CS code in a ".zo" file normally contains machine code that is specific to an operating system and architecture.
The BC implementation was the default implementation up until version 7.9. The “BC” label stands for “before Chez” or “bytecode.”
Compiled Racket BC code in a ".zo" file normally contains platform-independent bytecode that is further compiled to machine code “just in time” as the code is loaded.
Racket BC has two variants: 3m and CGC. The difference is the garbage collection implementation, where 3m uses a garbage collector that moves objects in memory (an effect that is visible to foreign libraries, for example) and keeps precise track of allocated objects, while CGC uses a “conservative” collector that requires less cooperation from an embedding foreign environment. The 3m subvariant tends to perform much better than CGC, and it became the default variant in version 370 (which would be v3.7 in the current versioning convention).
Most Racket programs run the same in all implementation variants, but some Racket features are available only on some implementation variants, and the interaction of Racket and foreign functions is significantly different across the variants. Use system-type to get information about the current running implementation.