Variable data types

Acton supports a plethora of primitive data types.

• int integers, like 1, 2, 123512, -6542 or 1267650600228229401496703205376
  • int is arbitrary precision and can grow beyond machine word sizes
  • i16 is a fixed size signed 16 bit integer
  • i32 is a fixed size signed 32 bit integer
  • i64 is a fixed size signed 64 bit integer
  • u16 is a fixed size unsigned 16 bit integer
  • u32 is a fixed size unsigned 32 bit integer
  • u64 is a fixed size unsigned 64 bit integer
• float 64 bit float, like 1.3 or -382.31
• bool boolean, like True or False
• str strings, like foo
  • strings support Unicode characters
• lists like [1, 2, 3] or ["foo", "bar"]
• dictionaries like {"foo": 1, "bar": 3}
• tuples like (1, "foo")
• sets like {"foo", "bar"}

In Acton, mutable state can only be held by actors. Global definitions in modules are constant. Assigning to the same name in an actor will shadow the global variable.

Source:

foo = 3    # this is a global constant and cannot be changed

def printfoo():
    print("global foo:", foo)  # this will print the global foo

actor main(env):
    # this sets a local variable with the name foo, shadowing the global constant foo
    foo = 4
    print("local foo, shadowing the global foo:", foo)
    printfoo()

    a = u16(1234)
    print("u16:", a)

    env.exit(0)

Output:

local foo, shadowing the global foo: 4
global foo: 3
u16: 1234