Variables and Constants

Variable Declaration

Basic Declaration

// Basic declaration with no initialization
u8 x;
 
// Basic declaration with initialization
i32 count = 0;
f64 pi = 3.14159;

Constant Variables

// Constant variables
const i32 MAX_SIZE = 1000;
const str VERSION = "1.0.0";

Ownership Assignment

// Ownership assignment
Matrix m_owned := create_matrix();  // takes ownership
Matrix m_copy = owned;              // error - cannot copy owned value
Matrix m_moved := owned;      // explicit ownership transfer

The := operator indicates ownership transfer, while = is used for copying or borrowing depending on context.

Qualifiers

Storage and Access Qualifiers

// Storage and access qualifiers
static i32 global_counter = 0;    // function-scoped persistence
private void = helper();          // module-internal function
secret i32 internal_state;       // class-internal only

Hardware Qualifiers

// Hardware qualifiers
volatile u32 hardware_register;   // prevent optimization
atomic u64 shared_counter;        // thread-safe operations
register u64 hot_variable;        // register allocation hint

Qualifier Descriptions

Qualifier	Description
const	Value cannot be modified after initialization
static	Variable persists between function calls
private	Accessible only within the current module
secret	Accessible only within the current class/struct
volatile	Prevents compiler optimizations
atomic	Ensures thread-safe operations
register	Suggests register allocation
simd	Enables SIMD vectorization

Ownership Semantics

• Owned values (:=) - The variable takes full ownership
• Borrowed values (#=) - The variable borrows a reference
• Copied values (=) - The variable gets a copy (if type supports copying)

Matrix original := create_matrix();
Matrix moved := original;           // ownership transferred
#Matrix borrowed #= moved;         // immutable borrow
~Matrix mut_borrowed #= moved;     // mutable borrow