Unable to create a variable of an Enumeration - scala

I have created an Enumeration as follows:
scala> object J extends Enumeration {
| type J = Value
| val Fail, Success = Value
| }
defined object J
Question 1 - I tried to create a variable of its type but got the following error. Why?
scala> val j:J
<console>:11: error: not found: type J
val j:J
^
<console>:11: error: only classes can have declared but undefined members
val j:J
^
Question 2 - I could create a variable as follows. I suppose the Fail's value is actually 0. How could I print 0?
scala> val j = J.Fail
j: J.Value = Fail
scala> println(j)
Fail

You are using the wrong syntax to assign a type variable, you should do:
val j = J
j: J.type = J
Regarding the value, Fail and Sucess has no value apart from its own name, if you want to assign a value to them you should use this syntax:
object J extends Enumeration {
type J = Value
val Fail = Value(0)
val Success = Value(1)
}
Then you can access to it ussing its id property
scala> j.id
res: Int = 0
scala> j
res: J.Value = Fail

Related

Why there is a different error message on using += and a=x+y on a val variable?

I had defined a val variable (t), and an array(m) with Int values and then tried to perform sum of all elements of array using for loop in two ways:
case1. Using += (Error message: value += is not a member of Int )
case2. Using a=x+y way (Error message: reassignment to val )
Error is expected in this case as I'm trying to re-assign a new value to a val variable but why there is different error message in case1 and case2?
scala> val t = 0
t: Int = 0
scala> val m = Array(1,2,3,4,5,6,7)
n: Array[Int] = Array(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
case1:
scala> for(e<-m) t+=e
<console>:28: error: value += is not a member of Int
for(e<-m) t+=e
^
case2:
scala> for(e<-m) t=t+e
<console>:28: error: reassignment to val
for(e<-m) t=t+e
^
Consider the desugared version of t += 42 when t is a val:
t.$plus$eq(42)
Note how there is no assignment happening, instead, it is simply a method call on t. Contrast this with desugared version of t += 42 when t is a var and it does not have += method available
t = t.$plus(42)
Here we see an assignment statement. Therefore, as there is no assignment happening in the case of t+=e where t is a val, the error message does not indicate reassignment to val, instead it is complaining about missing method +=, that is, $plus$eq, on t.

Scala: type mismatch

I spend awful amount of time to figure it out following:
rmseList is a List of doubles
val rmseList = List(Double)
var tempRMSE : Double = 0.0;
for(rmse <- rmseList) {
val idx = rmseList.indexOf(rmse) + 1
tempRMSE = rmse
}
I get following error, when I am trying to iterate list and assign current value to temp variable.
[error] found : Double.type
[error] required: Double
[error] tempRMSE = rmse
You've probably put the companion object for Double into a list instead of actually putting doubles there. Here's an example:
scala> val xs = List(Double)
xs: List[Double.type] = List(object scala.Double)
scala> var d: Double = 0
d: Double = 0.0
scala> for (x <- xs) { d = x }
<console>:10: error: type mismatch;
found : Double.type
required: Double
for (x <- xs) { d = x }
As to how you managed to put the companion object in instead of Double values, I don't know, because you didn't show us how you built the list. Maybe somehow using parens (Double) instead of brackets [Double] to specify the type?

Why is it possible to assign recursive lambdas to non-lazy vals in Scala?

In the following statement the val f is defined as a lambda that references itself (it is recursive):
val f: Int => Int = (a: Int) =>
if (a > 10) 3 else f(a + 1) + 1 // just some simple function
I've tried it in the REPL, and it compiles and executes correctly.
According to the specification, this seems like an instance of illegal forward referencing:
In a statement sequence s[1]...s[n] making up a block, if a simple
name in s[i] refers to an entity defined by s[j] where j >= i,
then for all s[k] between and including s[i] and s[j],
s[k] cannot be a variable definition.
If s[k] is a value definition, it must be lazy.
The assignment is a single statement, so it satisfied the j >= i criteria, and it is included in the interval of statements the two rules apply to (between and including s[i] and s[j]).
However, it seems that it violates the second rule, because f is not lazy.
How is that a legal statement (tried it in Scala 2.9.2)?
You probably tried to use this in the REPL, which wraps all contents in an object definition. This is important because in Scala (or better: on the JVM) all instance values are initialized with a default value, which is null for all AnyRefs and 0, 0.0 or false for AnyVals. For method values this default initialization does not happen, therefore you get an error message in this case:
scala> object x { val f: Int => Int = a => if (a > 10) 3 else f(a+1)+1 }
defined object x
scala> def x { val f: Int => Int = a => if (a > 10) 3 else f(a+1)+1 }
<console>:7: error: forward reference extends over definition of value f
def x { val f: Int => Int = a => if (a > 10) 3 else f(a+1)+1 }
^
This behavior can even lead to weird situations, therefore one should be careful with recursive instance values:
scala> val m: Int = m+1
m: Int = 1
scala> val s: String = s+" x"
s: String = null x

Why can't i define a variable recursively in a code block?

Why can't i define a variable recursively in a code block?
scala> {
| val test: Stream[Int] = 1 #:: test
| }
<console>:9: error: forward reference extends over definition of value test
val test: Stream[Int] = 1 #:: test
^
scala> val test: Stream[Int] = 1 #:: test
test: Stream[Int] = Stream(1, ?)
lazy keyword solves this problem, but i can't understand why it works without a code block but throws a compilation error in a code block.
Note that in the REPL
scala> val something = "a value"
is evaluated more or less as follows:
object REPL$1 {
val something = "a value"
}
import REPL$1._
So, any val(or def, etc) is a member of an internal REPL helper object.
Now the point is that classes (and objects) allow forward references on their members:
object ForwardTest {
def x = y // val x would also compile but with a more confusing result
val y = 2
}
ForwardTest.x == 2
This is not true for vals inside a block. In a block everything must be defined in linear order. Thus vals are no members anymore but plain variables (or values, resp.). The following does not compile either:
def plainMethod = { // could as well be a simple block
def x = y
val y = 2
x
}
<console>: error: forward reference extends over definition of value y
def x = y
^
It is not recursion which makes the difference. The difference is that classes and objects allow forward references, whereas blocks do not.
I'll add that when you write:
object O {
val x = y
val y = 0
}
You are actually writing this:
object O {
val x = this.y
val y = 0
}
That little this is what is missing when you declare this stuff inside a definition.
The reason for this behavior depends on different val initialization times. If you type val x = 5 directly to the REPL, x becomes a member of an object, which values can be initialized with a default value (null, 0, 0.0, false). In contrast, values in a block can not initialized by default values.
This tends to different behavior:
scala> class X { val x = y+1; val y = 10 }
defined class X
scala> (new X).x
res17: Int = 1
scala> { val x = y+1; val y = 10; x } // compiles only with 2.9.0
res20: Int = 11
In Scala 2.10 the last example does not compile anymore. In 2.9.0 the values are reordered by the compiler to get it to compile. There is a bug report which describes the different initialization times.
I'd like to add that a Scala Worksheet in the Eclipse-based Scala-IDE (v4.0.0) does not behave like the REPL as one might expect (e.g. https://github.com/scala-ide/scala-worksheet/wiki/Getting-Started says "Worksheets are like a REPL session on steroids") in this respect, but rather like the definition of one long method: That is, forward referencing val definitions (including recursive val definitions) in a worksheet must be made members of some object or class.

Scala methods ending in _=

I seem to remember Scala treating methods ending in _= specially, so something like this:
object X { var x: Int = 0; def y_=(n : Int) { x = n }}
X.y = 1
should call X.y_=(1). However, in 2.8.0 RC1, I get an error message:
<console>:6: error: value y is not a member of object X
X.y = 1
^
Interestingly, just trying to call the method without parentheses fails as well:
scala> X.y_= 1
<console>:1: error: ';' expected but integer literal found.
X.y_= 1
^
Am I misremembering something which does actually exist or did I just invent it out of whole cloth?
This is one of those corner cases in Scala. You cannot have a setter without a getter and vice versa.
The following works fine:
scala> object X {
| var x: Int = 0
| def y = x
| def y_=(n: Int) { x = n }
| }
defined module X
scala> X.y = 45
scala> X.y
res0: Int = 45
scala> object X { var x: Int = 0; def y_=(n : Int) { x = n }}
defined module X
scala>
scala> X y_= 1
scala> X.x
res1: Int = 1
scala> object X { var x: Int = _; def y = x ; def y_=(n: Int) { x = n } }
defined module X
scala> X.y = 1
scala> X.y
res2: Int = 1
scala>