What Does "Contract" Actually Mean in Code?

The word "contract" gets thrown around in software development constantly — client-API contracts, TypeScript contracts, data contracts. But what does it actually mean? We trace the term back to Bertrand Meyer's design by contract in 1986, build a five-part test for what makes a real contract, and run it against TypeScript interfaces, OpenAPI schemas, database constraints, consumer-driven contract testing, and data contracts. The results might surprise you. Episode #530198 — open it directly at myweirdprompts.com/530198