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local variable(+Name, ?Init)

Creates the untyped non-logical variable Name.
Name
An atom.
Init
Any term

Description

A non-logical variable with name Name (visible only in the context module) is created. Its value is initialised to Init. The contents of the variable persists across failures. The value of a non-logical variable can be changed with setval/2 and retrieved with getval/2. Setting and retrieving terms from a non-logical variable involves copying the term each time. In particular, if the term contains variables, they lose their identity and are replaced with fresh ones.

Notes:

Declaring a variable twice is silently accepted, and the second declaration is ignored.

Modes and Determinism

Exceptions

(4) instantiation fault
Name is not instantiated.
(5) type error
Name is not an atom.

Examples

Success:
      :- local variable(a,[]).
      :- local variable(count,0), variable(value,colour(red)).

Error:
      :- local variable(X, []).                      (Error 4).
      :- local variable(6, 0).                       (Error 5).

See Also

current_array / 2, array / 1, array / 2, decval / 1, incval / 1, bag_create / 1, getval / 2, setval / 2, reference / 2, variable / 1