[Contract dev > Fundamentals] Clarify smart contract components: persistent state and interactions (messages/getters) #1693
Description
Problem / Why
Readers don’t clearly understand what a TON smart contract consists of and how it behaves: specifically persistent state (what is stored across transactions) vs execution, and how contracts interact (external/internal messages, getters). This makes it harder to build, debug, and read on-chain activity.
What to do
Add/expand a concise section explaining:
Components
- Code: contract logic executed by TVM
- Persistent state (data): stored between transactions (what it contains, how it’s updated)
- Balance: TON used for storage rent + fees and forwarding value
- Address: identifies the account / workchain context (high level only)
Interactions
- External messages: typically initiated by a wallet/user
- Internal messages: contract-to-contract communication and transfers
- Get methods (getters): read-only queries executed off-chain (no state change)
- Bounce behavior (optional, brief): what happens when a message fails
Include 1 small “typical flow” example (bullet list) linking to the “Your first smart contract” tutorial.