Language: Variables

Variables store values that can be used later.

Most notably, a variable assignment of main is required for all Sentinel policies. This is the main rule that is executed to determine the result of a policy. The main rule may use other variables that are assigned in the policy.

Example:

a = 1
b = a + 1

In this example, two variables are assigned: a and b. a is given the value of "1" and b uses the a to calculate its own value.

Syntax

The syntax for assigning a variable is:

IDENTIFIER = VALUE

On the left of the equal sign is an identifier. This is a name for your variable and will be how you reference it later. An identifier is any combination of letters and digits, but must start with a letter. An underscore _ is also a valid letter.

On the right is any valid Sentinel value or expression. A value is a literal value such as a number or string. An expression is some computed value such as doing math, calling a function, etc.

Assignment and Reassignment

A variable is assigned when it is given a value. You can also reassign variables at any time by setting it to a new value. The new value takes effect for any subsequent use of that variable. A variable can be reassigned to a different type.

For example:

a = 1       // a = 1
b = a       // b = 1
a = "value" // a = "value", b = 1
c = a       // c = "value", b = 1

In the above example you can see that the variables are set and reassigned. Notice that the value of a variable is the current value, and that reassigning a variable only affects future uses of that variable. You can see this with c and b being different values.

Unassigned Variables

Using a variable that is unassigned is an error.

In the example below, the first line would result in the policy erroring. Sentinel is executed top-down and the value of c is not available yet on the first line.

a = c // Error!
c = 1

Type Conversion

While a topic more related to values, variables can be assigned (or-reassigned) a different value type via type conversion.

s = "1.1"
a = int(s)   // a = 1
a = float(s) // a = 1.1

a = 1
s = string(a) // s = "1"

For more details, see the type conversion sections in the values page, or the Sentinel Language Specification.