In block coding, can we have local variables?

[mauroid]

Do we get to have local variables (visible only inside a function) in block coding, or are all variables global?

It would seem very restrictive not to have local variables, but I can't see how it can be done.

[laurensvalk]

Once you are inspecting and optimizing the generated code, it is usually time to switch to Python directly :-)

But you can do it. You can use function arguments as local variables:

[mauroid]

Thank you very much for your reply, and I agree about your comment on switching to python. However some kids are not ready to make the switch yet!

I would argue that adding parameters to a function in order to have local variables is not the right way to do it, as it (among other things) breaks all function calls as soon as you add/delete a local variable to a function. I think I would want to go the python way, which basically means (a) remove the need to add all variables to the setup section, or make it optional, and (b) be able to use any variable name anywhere, implying that variables that appear only inside a function are local. Which is basically the way python works.

Again, I appreciate your response, having this workaround is better than nothing for sure!

[laurensvalk]

However some kids are not ready to make the switch yet! (...) I think I would want to go the python way

But do these students need the local variables? You can see the trade-off here :-)

Note that you can also combine blocks and Python if some students are ready to make the switch and some are not. You can write real Python functions in one file, and import and call it from block code.

[mauroid]

Again, excellent recommendation, thank you very much! I had indeed forgotten about the ability to write hybrid blocks/python code!

To answer your question, from my limited experience yes, the kids need local variables before they are ready to switch to python. Without local variables the code just gets very messy very soon. I could be wrong though.