Question

How would I express the following java code in scala?

a = b = c;

By the way, I’m re-assigning variables (not declaring).

Answer 1

The closest shortcut syntax in Scala can only be used when you declare a var or val.

scala> val c = 1  
c: Int = 1

scala> val a, b = c
a: Int = 1
b: Int = 1

From the Scala Reference, Section 4.1

A value declaration val x₁ , … ,
x_n: T is a shorthand for the sequence
of value declarations val x₁: T ;
…; val x_n: T. A value definition
val p₁, …, p_n = e is a
shorthand for the sequence of value
definitions val p₁ = e ; …; val p_n
= e . A value definition val p₁, … , p_n : T = e is a shorthand for the
sequence of value definitions val p₁
: T = e ; …; val p_n: T = e .

This doesn’t work for re-assignement to a var. The C/Java style doesn’t work for reasons explained here: What is the Motivation for Scala Assignment Evaluating to Unit