referential transparency is a feature of parts of computer programs. a part of a program is called "referentially transparent" if it can be replaced with the value it gives back without changing the program's behavior. a referentially transparent function must be pure—it must always give the same output if it takes the same input, and it must not have any side effects—parts of the program that perform an action other than giving a value back. the opposite of referential transparency is referential opacity.