Variable
In Haskell, a variable is a name for some valid expression. The word "variable" as applied to Haskell variables is misleading, since a given variable's value never varies during a program's runtime. Instead, the concept is much closer to the mathematical sense of the word, where one might use Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle pi} to stand for 3.14159..., or Failed to parse (SVG (MathML can be enabled via browser plugin): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.") from server "https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/":): {\displaystyle X^2} to represent the formula to compute to test for goodness of fit. These values do not generally change in the middle of performing a mathematical calculation or proof.
The operator =
is used to assign a value to a variable, e.g. phi = 1.618
. The scope of such variables can be controlled by using let
or where
clauses.
Another sense in which "variable" is used in Haskell is as formal parameters to a function. For example:
add x y = x + y
x and y are formal parameters for the add function. This corresponds to the notion of "variable" in the lambda calculus.