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Lexicon · term

The on-screen geometry contract

Also called mount continuity is not usability, geometry in the acceptance contract.

An acceptance contract for an interactive surface asserts where the interactive element sits relative to the region a person can actually see, not only that the element still exists and still holds focus. Continuity assertions describe the element; geometry assertions describe the encounter. No combination of continuity answers says where anything is, so a contract assembled entirely from them is fully satisfied by a layout that has put the focused element off the screen. This marks the limit of structural testing rather than an argument against it: a shape can be asserted precisely and still be the wrong shape, and choosing which property to make structural remains a judgement.

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