Value Declarations

The simplest type of declaration binds a name to the result an expression. These are called value declarations. They are similar to variable declarations, except we cannot assign new values to them after declaration:

val blackSquare = Rectangle(30, 30) fillColor Color.black
// blackSquare: doodle.Image = // ...

val redSquare = Rectangle(30, 30) fillColor Color.red
// redSquare: doodle.Image = // ...

Exercise: Chess Board

Create an 8x8 square chess board without loops or comprehensions, using the definitions of redSquare and blackSquare above. Use intermediate value declarations to make your code as compact as possible:

<div class="solution"> An 8x8 chess board can be decomposed into four 4x4 boards, each consisting four 2x2 boards, each consisting four squares:

val blackSquare = Rectangle(30, 30) fillColor Color.black
val redSquare   = Rectangle(30, 30) fillColor Color.red

val twoByTwo =
  (redSquare   beside blackSquare) above
  (blackSquare beside redSquare)

val fourByFour =
  (twoByTwo beside twoByTwo) above
  (twoByTwo beside twoByTwo)

val chessBoard =
  (fourByFour beside fourByFour) above
  (fourByFour beside fourByFour)

This is significantly clearer and more compact than creating the whole board in one expression:

val b = Rectangle(30, 30) fillColor Color.black
val r = Rectangle(30, 30) fillColor Color.red

val chessBoard =
  (r beside b beside r beside b beside r beside b beside r beside b) above
  (r beside b beside r beside b beside r beside b beside r beside b) above
  (r beside b beside r beside b beside r beside b beside r beside b) above
  (r beside b beside r beside b beside r beside b beside r beside b) above
  (r beside b beside r beside b beside r beside b beside r beside b) above
  (r beside b beside r beside b beside r beside b beside r beside b) above
  (r beside b beside r beside b beside r beside b beside r beside b) above
  (r beside b beside r beside b beside r beside b beside r beside b)

</div>