What are scoping rules in programming?

What are scoping rules in programming?

Scoping rules define how variable names are resolved in programming languages. They determine the visibility and lifetime of variables.

Can you explain the history of scoping rules?

Sure! Scoping rules have evolved from early programming languages like Fortran, which had global scope, to modern languages that use block scoping, like JavaScript.

What are the different types of scoping rules?

There are mainly three types: lexical (or static) scoping, dynamic scoping, and block scoping. Each has its own way of resolving variable names.

How do scoping rules affect variable accessibility?

Scoping rules determine where a variable can be accessed in the code. For example, a variable defined inside a function is not accessible outside of it.

Can you give examples of languages with different scoping rules?

Certainly! Java uses block scoping, while Python uses lexical scoping. Perl, on the other hand, has both lexical and dynamic scoping options.