Variables & Constants

Variables

dryLang uses no keyword for variable declaration. The first assignment creates the variable.

With = (explicit)

name = "Zaky"
age = 17
height = 175,5

Without = (space-separated)

name "Zaky"
age 17
height 175,5

Both forms are identical. Use whichever you prefer.

Reassignment

Variables can be reassigned freely:

score 100
pt score    // prints 100

score 200
pt score    // prints 200

Naming Rules

• Variable names must start with a letter or underscore
• Can contain letters, digits, and underscores
• Convention: lowercase with underscores (my_variable)
• ALL CAPS names are automatically treated as constants (see below)

// Valid names
name "ok"
my_var 42
_private "yes"
x2 100

// These are auto-constants (ALL CAPS)
MAXLIFE 5
API_KEY "abc123"

Constants

Constants are values that cannot be reassigned after declaration. There are two ways to create them.

Explicit: cns Keyword

cns pi 3,14
cns max_speed 299792458

With =:

cns pi = 3,14

Implicit: ALL CAPS

Any variable name in ALL UPPERCASE is automatically constant:

MAXLIFE 5
API_URL "https://api.example.com"
MAX_RETRIES 3

Constant Reassignment Error

Attempting to reassign a constant produces a compile error:

cns pi 3,14
pi 3,15          // Error: locked pi

MAXLIFE 5
MAXLIFE 10       // Error: locked MAXLIFE

Private Variables

Use the pv prefix to mark a variable as private (not exported when the module is imported):

pv secret_key "abc123"
pv count 0

Private also works with functions:

pv fn internal_helper() {
  rev "internal"
}

Unknown Bool (?)

The ? prefix declares a boolean variable with an initial value of unknown:

? status

pt status          // prints "unknown"
pt get(status)     // prints "unknown"

//  Can be assigned t or f later 
status = t
pt status          // prints "t"

//  Check for unknown state 
if status = unknown {
  pt "Status not yet determined"
}

This is useful for tri-state booleans where the value hasn't been determined yet.