Immutability
Immutability means objects cannot be modified after creation; mutation operations return new objects, eliminating shared-state races.
Purpose
Eliminate side effects and races, simplifying concurrency and state tracking — a core of functional programming.
Mechanism
Mutations return new copies instead of modifying in place. Structural sharing (persistent data structures) avoids full copying. React relies on immutable state to detect changes. Rust ownership defaults to immutability.
Use cases
- Concurrency safety
- State management
- Functional programming
Related terms
Functional Programming
Functional programming centers on pure functions, immutable data, and a declarative style, avoiding side effects and shared state. GLOSSARY
Build Artifact
A build artifact is an immutable output of the build process (binary/image/package) with a version identifier, stored in an artifact repository for deployment. GLOSSARY