Description #
Racket is a descendant of Scheme and a general-purpose, multi-paradigm programming language designed for language-oriented programming. It is especially popular in education and research, with powerful features for functional, imperative, and meta-programming.
History #
Originally known as PLT Scheme, Racket was created by the PLT research group and first released in 1995. It was renamed Racket in 2010 to emphasize its broader language-building capabilities. Racket remains a key language in programming language theory and education.
Hello World Code #
#lang racket
(displayln "Hello, World!")How to Run #
Option 1: Online
Option 2: Local
- Download and install from https://racket-lang.org
- Open DrRacket or terminal and run:
racket hello.rktKey Concepts #
- Language-oriented programming
- Functional-first design
- Rich macro system
- Typed Racket (type-safe variant)
- Built-in GUI and graphics support
- Powerful module system
- Interoperability with C and other languages
- Tail recursion optimization
- Minimal syntax with optional DSL creation
- Extensively used in computer science education
Try It Online #
Fun Facts #
- Racket lets you create entirely new languages within your codebase.
- It’s used to teach intro CS at major universities like Northeastern and Brown.
- Racket comes with its own IDE, DrRacket, built in Racket.
