Two Types of Variables

Kotlin has two types of variable declarations:

• val creates an immutable variable (like final in Java)
• var creates a mutable variable

Examples:

val s = "hello"   // immutable
var i = 42        // mutable

val p = Person("Hala")

Notes:

• Kotlin can usually infer the variable’s data type from the code on the right side of the = sign.
• This is considered an implicit form.
• You can also explicitly declare the variable type if you prefer:

val s: String = "hello"
var i: Int = 42

• The implicit form is generally preferred
• I use the explicit form when I don’t think the type is obvious; code is easier to maintain that way

The difference between val and var

The REPL shows what happens when you try to reassign a val field:

> val a = 'a'

> a = 'b'
error: val cannot be reassigned
a = 'b'
^

That fails with a “val cannot be reassigned” error, as expected. Conversely, you can reassign a var:

> var a = 'a'

> a = 'b'

> a
b

The general rule is that you should always use a val field unless there’s a good reason not to. This simple rule has several benefits:

• It makes your intention obvious: you don’t want this field to be reassigned
• It makes your code more like algebra
• If you ever want to go there, it helps get you started down the path to functional programming, where all fields are immutable

“Hello, world” with a val field

Here’s a “Hello, world” app with a val field:

fun main(args: Array<String>) {
    val s = "Hello, world"
    println(s)
}

As before:

• Save that code in a file named HelloVal.kt
• Compile it with kotlinc HelloVal.kt -include-runtime -d HelloVal.jar
• Run it with java -jar HelloVal.jar

Deferred initialization of val

Per Kotlin in Action, “a val variable must be initialized exactly once during the execution of the block where it’s defined ... but you can initialize it with different values depending on some condition.” Examples:

val name: String
val num: Int

val r = (1..10).shuffled().first()

// assign `name` and `num`
name = if (r % 2 == 0) "Alvin" else "Alexander"
num = r

println("name = $name, num = $num")

A note about val fields in the REPL

You can’t reassign a val field in the REPL:

> val age = 18

> age = 19
error: val cannot be reassigned
age = 19
^

However, you can do this in the REPL:

> val age = 18

> val age = 19

I thought I’d mention that because I didn’t want you to see it one day and think, “Hey, Al said val fields couldn’t be reassigned.” They can be reassigned like that, but only in the REPL.