Scope of Variables¶

The scope of a variable is the region of code within which a variable is visible. Variable scoping helps avoid variable naming conflicts. The concept is intuitive: two functions can both have arguments called x without the two x‘s referring to the same thing. Similarly there are many other cases where different blocks of code can use the same name without referring to the same thing. The rules for when the same variable name does or doesn’t refer to the same thing are called scope rules; this section spells them out in detail.

Certain constructs in the language introduce scope blocks, which are regions of code that are eligible to be the scope of some set of variables. The scope of a variable cannot be an arbitrary set of source lines; instead, it will always line up with one of these blocks. The constructs introducing such blocks are:

• function bodies (either syntax)
• while loops
• for loops
• try blocks
• catch blocks
• let blocks
• type blocks.

Notably missing from this list are begin blocks and if blocks, which do not introduce new scope blocks.

Certain constructs introduce new variables into the current innermost scope. When a variable is introduced into a scope, it is also inherited by all inner scopes unless one of those inner scopes explicitly overrides it.

Julia uses lexical scoping, meaning that a function’s scope does not inherit from its caller’s scope, but from the scope in which the function was defined. For example, in the following code the x inside foo is found in the global scope (and if no global variable x existed, an undefined variable error would be raised):

function foo()xendfunction bar()x=1foo()endx=2julia>bar()2

If foo is instead defined inside bar, then it accesses the local x present in that function:

function bar()function foo()xendx=1foo()endx=2julia>bar()1

The constructs that introduce new variables into the current scope are as follows:

• A declaration localx or constx introduces a new local variable.
• A declaration globalx makes x in the current scope and inner scopes refer to the global variable of that name.
• A function’s arguments are introduced as new local variables into the function’s body scope.
• An assignment x=y introduces a new local variable x only if x is neither declared global nor introduced as local by any enclosing scope before or after the current line of code.

In the following example, there is only one x assigned both inside and outside the for loop:

function foo(n)x=0fori=1:nx=x+1endxendjulia>foo(10)10

In the next example, the loop has a separate x and the function always returns zero:

function foo(n)x=0fori=1:nlocalxx=iendxendjulia>foo(10)0

In this example, an x exists only inside the loop, and the function encounters an undefined variable error on its last line (unless there is a global variable x):

function foo(n)fori=1:nx=iendxendjulia>foo(10)infoo:xnotdefined

A variable that is not assigned to or otherwise introduced locally defaults to global, so this function would return the value of the global x if there were such a variable, or produce an error if no such global existed. As a consequence, the only way to assign to a global variable inside a non-top-level scope is to explicitly declare the variable as global within some scope, since otherwise the assignment would introduce a new local rather than assigning to the global. This rule works out well in practice, since the vast majority of variables assigned inside functions are intended to be local variables, and using global variables should be the exception rather than the rule, and assigning new values to them even more so.

One last example shows that an outer assignment introducing x need not come before an inner usage:

function foo(n)f=y->n+x+yx=1f(2)endjulia>foo(10)13

This behavior may seem slightly odd for a normal variable, but allows for named functions — which are just normal variables holding function objects — to be used before they are defined. This allows functions to be defined in whatever order is intuitive and convenient, rather than forcing bottom up ordering or requiring forward declarations, both of which one typically sees in C programs. As an example, here is an inefficient, mutually recursive way to test if positive integers are even or odd:

even(n)=n==0?true:odd(n-1)odd(n)=n==0?false:even(n-1)julia>even(3)falsejulia>odd(3)true

Julia provides built-in, efficient functions to test for oddness and evenness called iseven() and isodd() so the above definitions should only be taken as examples.

Since functions can be used before they are defined, as long as they are defined by the time they are actually called, no syntax for forward declarations is necessary, and definitions can be ordered arbitrarily.

At the interactive prompt, variable scope works the same way as anywhere else. The prompt behaves as if there is scope block wrapped around everything you type, except that this scope block is identified with the global scope. This is especially evident in the case of assignments:

julia>fori=1:1;y=10;endjulia>yERROR:ynotdefinedjulia>y=00julia>fori=1:1;y=10;endjulia>y10

In the former case, y only exists inside of the for loop. In the latter case, an outer y has been introduced and so is inherited within the loop. Due to the special identification of the prompt’s scope block with the global scope, it is not necessary to declare globaly inside the loop. However, in code not entered into the interactive prompt this declaration would be necessary in order to modify a global variable.

Multiple variables can be declared global using the following syntax:

function foo()globalx=1,y="bar",z=3endjulia>foo()3julia>x1julia>y"bar"julia>z3

The let statement provides a different way to introduce variables. Unlike assignments to local variables, let statements allocate new variable bindings each time they run. An assignment modifies an existing value location, and let creates new locations. This difference is usually not important, and is only detectable in the case of variables that outlive their scope via closures. The let syntax accepts a comma-separated series of assignments and variable names:

letvar1=value1,var2,var3=value3codeend

The assignments are evaluated in order, with each right-hand side evaluated in the scope before the new variable on the left-hand side has been introduced. Therefore it makes sense to write something like letx=x since the two x variables are distinct and have separate storage. Here is an example where the behavior of let is needed:

Fs=cell(2)i=1whilei<=2Fs[i]=()->ii+=1endjulia>Fs[1]()3julia>Fs[2]()3

Here we create and store two closures that return variable i. However, it is always the same variable i, so the two closures behave identically. We can use let to create a new binding for i:

Fs=cell(2)i=1whilei<=2leti=iFs[i]=()->iendi+=1endjulia>Fs[1]()1julia>Fs[2]()2

Since the begin construct does not introduce a new scope, it can be useful to use a zero-argument let to just introduce a new scope block without creating any new bindings:

julia>beginlocalx=1beginlocalx=2endxendERROR:syntax:local"x"declaredtwicejulia>beginlocalx=1letlocalx=2endxend1

The first example is invalid because you cannot declare the same variable as local in the same scope twice. The second example is valid since the let introduces a new scope block, so the inner local x is a different variable than the outer local x.

Fs=cell(2)fori=1:2Fs[i]=()->iendjulia>Fs[1]()1julia>Fs[2]()2

i=0fori=1:3endi# here equal to 3

x=0[xforx=1:3]x# here still equal to 0

conste=2.71828182845904523536constpi=3.14159265358979323846