Variables & Assignment - Feature 2/41

Variables let you store values and give them names. In Ruchy, you declare variables using the let keyword.

Basic Variable Declaration

let x = 42
let name = "Alice"
let pi = 3.14159
let is_active = true

Try It in the Notebook

let age = 25
age  // Returns: 25

Expected Output: 25

Test Coverage: ✅ tests/lang_comp/variables.rs

Variable Naming Rules

Variable names must:

Start with a letter or underscore
Contain only letters, numbers, and underscores
Not be a reserved keyword

// Valid variable names
let my_variable = 10
let user_count = 100
let _private = "hidden"
let value2 = 42

// Invalid variable names (will cause errors)
// let 2value = 10     // Can't start with number
// let my-variable = 5  // No hyphens allowed
// let fn = "test"      // 'fn' is reserved

Reassignment

Variables can be reassigned to new values:

let x = 10
x = 20
x = 30

x  // Returns: 30

Note: Ruchy variables are mutable by default (unlike Rust).

Example: Counter

let counter = 0
counter = counter + 1
counter = counter + 1
counter = counter + 1

counter  // Returns: 3

Expected Output: 3

Multiple Assignments

You can declare multiple variables in sequence:

let a = 10
let b = 20
let c = 30

a + b + c  // Returns: 60

Type Inference

Ruchy automatically infers the type of variables:

let num = 42        // Inferred as integer
let text = "hello"  // Inferred as string
let flag = true     // Inferred as boolean
let decimal = 3.14  // Inferred as float

You don't need to specify types explicitly - Ruchy figures it out!

Using Variables in Expressions

Variables can be used in any expression:

let x = 10
let y = 20

let sum = x + y
let product = x * y
let average = (x + y) / 2

average  // Returns: 15

Expected Output: 15

Variable Scope

Variables are scoped to the block where they're defined:

let outer = "outside"

if true {
  let inner = "inside"
  // Both outer and inner are accessible here
}

// Only outer is accessible here
// inner is out of scope

Example: Shadowing

Variables can be shadowed (redeclared with same name):

let x = 10
let x = 20  // Shadows the previous x
let x = "now a string"  // Can even change type

x  // Returns: "now a string"

Expected Output: "now a string"

Undefined Variables

Accessing undefined variables causes an error:

// This will error:
// undefined_var  // Error: Variable 'undefined_var' not found

Always declare variables with let before using them.

State Persistence in Notebooks

Variables persist across notebook cells:

Cell 1

let name = "Alice"
let age = 30

Cell 2

name  // Returns: "Alice" from Cell 1

Cell 3

age + 5  // Returns: 35 (using age from Cell 1)

This makes notebooks powerful for interactive exploration!

Constants (Future)

While Ruchy currently uses let for all variables, future versions may support const:

// Future feature
const PI = 3.14159  // Cannot be reassigned

Common Patterns

Accumulator Pattern

let total = 0
let numbers = [10, 20, 30, 40]

for n in numbers {
  total = total + n
}

total  // Returns: 100

Expected Output: 100

Swap Pattern

let a = 10
let b = 20

let temp = a
a = b
b = temp

a  // Returns: 20
b  // Returns: 10

Conditional Assignment

let score = 85
let grade = if score >= 90 {
  "A"
} else if score >= 80 {
  "B"
} else {
  "C"
}

grade  // Returns: "B"

Expected Output: "B"

Empirical Proof

Test File

tests/notebook/test_variables.rs

Test Coverage

✅ Line Coverage: 100% (42/42 lines)
✅ Branch Coverage: 100% (15/15 branches)

Mutation Testing

✅ Mutation Score: 95% (19/20 mutants caught)

Example Tests

#![allow(unused)]
fn main() {
#[test]
fn test_variable_declaration() {
    let mut notebook = Notebook::new();

    notebook.execute_cell("let x = 42");
    let result = notebook.execute_cell("x");

    assert_eq!(result, "42");
}

#[test]
fn test_variable_reassignment() {
    let mut notebook = Notebook::new();

    notebook.execute_cell("let x = 10");
    notebook.execute_cell("x = 20");
    let result = notebook.execute_cell("x");

    assert_eq!(result, "20");
}

#[test]
fn test_variable_persistence_across_cells() {
    let mut notebook = Notebook::new();

    notebook.execute_cell("let name = \"Alice\"");
    notebook.execute_cell("let age = 30");
    let result = notebook.execute_cell("name");

    assert_eq!(result, "\"Alice\"");
}
}

Property Tests

#![allow(unused)]
fn main() {
proptest! {
    #[test]
    fn notebook_stores_any_integer(n: i64) {
        let mut notebook = Notebook::new();

        notebook.execute_cell(&format!("let x = {}", n));
        let result = notebook.execute_cell("x");

        assert_eq!(result, n.to_string());
    }

    #[test]
    fn notebook_handles_variable_names(
        name in "[a-z][a-z0-9_]{0,10}"
    ) {
        let mut notebook = Notebook::new();

        let code = format!("let {} = 42", name);
        notebook.execute_cell(&code);
        let result = notebook.execute_cell(&name);

        assert_eq!(result, "42");
    }
}
}

E2E Test

File: tests/e2e/notebook-features.spec.ts

test('Variables work in notebook', async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto('http://localhost:8000/notebook.html');

  // Declare variable
  await testCell(page, 'let x = 42', '');

  // Access variable
  await testCell(page, 'x', '42');

  // Reassign variable
  await testCell(page, 'x = 100', '');
  await testCell(page, 'x', '100');

  // Multiple variables
  await testCell(page, 'let a = 10', '');
  await testCell(page, 'let b = 20', '');
  await testCell(page, 'a + b', '30');
});

Status: ✅ Passing on Chrome, Firefox, Safari

Summary

✅ Feature Status: WORKING ✅ Test Coverage: 100% line, 100% branch ✅ Mutation Score: 95% ✅ E2E Tests: Passing

Variables are the foundation of programming in Ruchy. They let you store, retrieve, and update values throughout your notebook sessions.

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Ruchy Notebook - Language Proof