In every programming language, we need some variable whose value will never change thoroughout the program. In Kotlin too, we have a keyword to create such a variable whose value will remain as constant throughout the program. In order to declare a value as constant, we can use the "const" keyword at the beginning. In this article, we will learn how we can declare a variable as constant in a different way.
Example: Top level declaration
Example
Kotlin const variable can be declared at the top of the programming language and it can be used throughout the file scope.
private const val My_TOP_LEVEL_CONST_VAL = "Type 1--> Example of Top Level Constant Value" fun main() { println(My_TOP_LEVEL_CONST_VAL); }
Output
It will produce the following output −
Type 1--> Example of Top Level Constant Value
Example: Local constant
Like any other programming language, in Kotlin too, we can declare a local constant value and it will be blocked with in the specified scope. In the following example, we will create a local constant value.
Example
fun main() { val MY_LOCAL_CONST="Type 2-->Example of local const value" println(MY_LOCAL_CONST); }
Output
It will produce the following output −
Type 2-->Example of local const value
Example: Companion object const
Kotlin also provides an option to create a const function in the companion object. This is not recommended as per the recent programming architecture, because a companion object by default creates its own getter() and setter() methods which may cause performance issues.
Example
fun main() { println(Student.MY_CONSTANT); } class Student(){ companion object{ const val MY_CONSTANT = "Type 3--> Using companion Object" } }
Output
It will produce the following output −
Type 3--> Using companion Object
Example: Object declaration and direct call
A Constant variable can also be declared inside an object class. Later, this variable can be used by different means inside the program.
Example
fun main() { println(MyConstant.Const_USING_OBJECT_CLASS); } object MyConstant { const val Const_USING_OBJECT_CLASS = "Type 4-->Example of const using object class" }
Output
It will produce the following output −
Type 4-->Example of const using object class