variables.rst

Variables and Constants

At the global module level, we declare variables with the global keyword:

[public] global NAME: TYPE [= DEFAULT];

This defines a global variable called NAME with type TYPE. If the variable is declared with public visibility other modules can reference it. If a default is given, Spicy initializes the global accordingly before any code executes. Otherwise, the global receives a type-specific default, typically the type's notion of a null value. As a result, globals are always initialized to a well-defined value.

As a shortcut, you can skip : TYPE if the global comes with a default. Spicy then just applies the expression's type to the global.

We define global constants in a similar way, just replacing global with const:

.. spicy-code::

    const x: uint32 = 42;
    const foo = "Foo";

Inside a function, local variables use the same syntax once more, just prefixed with local this time:

.. spicy-code::

    function f() {
        local x: bytes;
        local y = "Y";

    }

Usual scoping rules apply to locals. Just like globals, locals are always initialized to a well-defined value: either their default if given, or the type's null value.