Lexical Scoping

Definitions of outer blocks are visible inside a block unless they are shadowed. Shadowed defintions are ones which are redefined in a lower scope.

Therefore, we can simplify sqrt by eliminating redundant occurrences of the x parameter, which means the same thing everywhere:

The sqrt Function, Take 3

def sqrt(x: Double) = {
  def sqrtIter(guess: Double): Double =
    if (isGoodEnough(guess)) guess
    else sqrtIter(improve(guess))

  def improve(guess: Double) =
    (guess + x / guess) / 2

  def isGoodEnough(guess: Double) =
    abs(square(guess) - x) < 0.001

  sqrtIter(1.0)
}

Semicolons

In Scala, semicolons at the end of lines are in most cases optional.

You could write:

val x = 1;

but most people would omit the semicolon.

On the other hand, if there are more than one statements on a line, they need to be separated by semicolons:

val y = x + 1; y * y

Semicolons and infix operators

One issue with Scala's semicolon convention is how to write expressions that span several lines. For instance:

someLongExpression
+ someOtherExpression

would be interpreted as two expressions:

someLongExpression;
+ someOtherExpression

There are two ways to overcome this problem.

You could write the multi-line expression in parentheses, because semicolons are never inserted inside (…):

(someLongExpression
+ someOtherExpression)

Or you could write the operator on the first line, because this tells the Scala compiler that the expression is not yet finished:

someLongExpression +
someOtherExpression

Top-Level Definitions

In real Scala programs, def and val definitions must be written within a top-level object definition, in a .scala file:

object MyExecutableProgram {
  val myVal = …
  def myMethod = …
}

The above code defines an object named MyExecutableProgram. You can refer to its members using the usual dot notation:

MyExecutableProgram.myMethod

The definition of MyExecutableProgram is top-level because it is not nested within another definition.

Packages and Imports

Top-level definitions can be organized in packages. To place a class or object inside a package, use a package clause at the top of your source file:

// file foo/Bar.scala
package foo
object Bar { … }

// file foo/Baz.scala
package foo
object Baz { … }

Definitions located in a package are visible from other definitions located in the same package:

// file foo/Baz.scala
package foo
object Baz {
  // Bar is visible because it is in the `foo` package too
  Bar.someMethod
}

On the other hand, definitions located in other packages are not directly visible: you must use fully qualified names to refer to them:

// file quux/Quux.scala
package quux
object Quux {
  foo.Bar.someMethod
}

Finally, you can import names to avoid repeating their fully qualified form:

// file quux/Quux.scala
package quux
import foo.Bar
object Quux {
  // Bar refers to the imported `foo.Bar`
  Bar.someMethod
}

Automatic Imports

Some entities are automatically imported in any Scala program.

These are:

• All members of package scala
• All members of package java.lang
• All members of the singleton object scala.Predef.

Here are the fully qualified names of some types and functions which you have seen so far:

Int                            scala.Int
Boolean                        scala.Boolean
Object                         java.lang.Object
String                         java.lang.String

Writing Executable Programs

So far our examples of code were executed from your Web browser, but it is also possible to create standalone applications in Scala.

Each such application contains an object with a main method.

For instance, here is the "Hello World!" program in Scala:

object Hello {
  def main(args: Array[String]) = println("hello world!")
}

Once this program is compiled, you can start it from the command line with

$ scala Hello

Exercise

Nested functions

It's good functional programming style to split up a task into many small functions.

But the names of functions like sqrtIter, improve, and isGoodEnough (defined in the previous section) matter only for the implementation of sqrt, not for its usage.

Normally we would not like users to access these functions directly.

We can achieve this and at the same time avoid “name-space pollution” by putting the auxiliary functions inside sqrt.

The sqrt Function, Take 2

def sqrt(x: Double) = {
  def sqrtIter(guess: Double, x: Double): Double =
    if (isGoodEnough(guess, x)) guess
    else sqrtIter(improve(guess, x), x)

  def improve(guess: Double, x: Double) =
    (guess + x / guess) / 2

  def isGoodEnough(guess: Double, x: Double) =
    abs(square(guess) - x) < 0.001

  sqrtIter(1.0, x)
}

Blocks in Scala

• A block is delimited by braces { ... }.

{
  val x = f(3)
  x * x
}

• It contains a sequence of definitions or expressions.
• The last element of a block is an expression that defines its value.
• This return expression can be preceded by auxiliary definitions.
• Blocks are themselves expressions; a block may appear everywhere an expression can.

Blocks and Visibility

• The definitions inside a block are only visible from within the block.
• The definitions inside a block shadow definitions of the same names outside the block.

Exercise: Scope Rules

What is the value of result in the following program?