Data Structures

Data structures allow you to organize and store data efficiently. Flexa provides built-in support for arrays and structs, which are essential for managing collections of data and creating custom types. In this section, we’ll explore how to use these data structures effectively.

Arrays

Arrays are collections of elements of the same type. They are useful for storing and manipulating sequences of data.

Declaring Arrays

Arrays are declared using the following syntax:

var array_name: type[] = {element1, element2, ...};

array_name: The name of the array.
type: The type of elements in the array.
element1, element2, …: The initial elements of the array.

Example

var numbers: int[] = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5};
var names: string[] = {"Alice", "Bob", "Charlie"};

Accessing Array Elements

Array elements are accessed using their index (starting from 0).

var first_number = numbers[0]; // first_number = 1
var second_name = names[1];    // second_name = "Bob"

Modifying Array Elements

You can modify array elements by assigning new values to specific indices.

numbers[0] = 10; // numbers = {10, 2, 3, 4, 5}

Array Length

The length of an array can be obtained using the len function.

var count = len(numbers); // count = 5

Iterating Over Arrays

You can use a foreach loop to iterate over the elements of an array.

foreach (var num in numbers) {
  println("Number: " + num);
}

Structs

Structs are user-defined types that group related data together. They are useful for creating complex data structures.

Declaring Structs

Structs are declared using the struct keyword, followed by the struct name and a block of fields.

struct StructName {
  var field1: type;
  var field2: type;
  ...
}

StructName: The name of the struct.
field1, field2, …: The fields (variables) of the struct.

Example

struct Person {
  var name: string;
  var age: int;
}

Creating Struct Instances

You can create instances of a struct using the struct name followed by a block of field assignments.

var person: Person = Person{name="Alice", age=30};

Accessing Struct Fields

Struct fields are accessed using the dot (.) operator.

println(person.name); // Prints "Alice"
println(person.age);  // Prints 30

Modifying Struct Fields

You can modify struct fields by assigning new values.

person.age = 31; // person.age is now 31

Nested Structs

Structs can contain other structs as fields.

struct Address {
  var street: string;
  var city: string;
}

struct Employee {
  var name: string;
  var address: Address;
}

var employee: Employee = Employee{
  name="Bob",
  address=Address{street="123 Main St", city="Springfield"}
}

Array of Structs

You can create arrays of structs to manage collections of complex data.

var people: Person[] = {
  Person{name="Alice", age=30},
  Person{name="Bob", age=25},
  Person{name="Charlie", age=35}
};

foreach (var person in people) {
  println(person.name + " is " + person.age + " years old.");
}

What’s Next?

Now that you understand how to work with arrays and structs, it’s time to learn about error handling in Flexa. Head over to the Error Handling section to dive deeper.

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Next: Error Handling →