// // Help! Evil alien creatures have hidden eggs all over the Earth // and they're starting to hatch! // // Before you jump into battle, you'll need to know three things: // // 1. You can attach functions to structs (and other "type definitions"): // // const Foo = struct{ // pub fn hello() void { // std.debug.print("Foo says hello!\n", .{}); // } // }; // // 2. A function that is a member of a struct is "namespaced" within // that struct and is called by specifying the "namespace" and then // using the "dot syntax": // // Foo.hello(); // // 3. The NEAT feature of these functions is that if their first argument // is an instance of the struct (or a pointer to one) then we can use // the instance as the namespace instead of the type: // // const Bar = struct{ // pub fn a(self: Bar) void {} // pub fn b(this: *Bar, other: u8) void {} // pub fn c(bar: *const Bar) void {} // }; // // var bar = Bar{}; // bar.a() // is equivalent to Bar.a(bar) // bar.b(3) // is equivalent to Bar.b(&bar, 3) // bar.c() // is equivalent to Bar.c(&bar) // // Notice that the name of the parameter doesn't matter. Some use // self, others use a lowercase version of the type name, but feel // free to use whatever is most appropriate. // // "But hold on," you say, eyeing a() and b() suspiciously, "why // does one take 'self' and another take '*self'?" Sharp eye! // // It all comes down to a single question: does the function need // to CHANGE the struct? // // * Needs to change it? Take a pointer (*Bar). Without it you'd // be scribbling on a COPY, and your changes would evaporate the // instant the function returns. Poof. // * Only reads it? Plain Bar is just fine. // (For a big, bulky struct you might still write *const Bar to // avoid copying it around, but for small ones a copy is cheap.) // // You'll see this below: zap() takes 'self: HeatRay' by value // because it only reads the ray's damage, but it takes the alien // as '*Alien' because zapping is supposed to HURT - and that means // changing the alien's health for real, not on a throwaway copy. // // Okay, you're armed. // // Now, please zap the alien structs until they're all gone or // the Earth will be doomed! // const std = @import("std"); // Look at this hideous Alien struct. Know your enemy! const Alien = struct { health: u8, // We hate this method: pub fn hatch(strength: u8) Alien { return Alien{ .health = strength * 5, }; } }; // Your trusty weapon. Zap those aliens! const HeatRay = struct { damage: u8, // We love this method: pub fn zap(self: HeatRay, alien: *Alien) void { alien.health -= if (self.damage >= alien.health) alien.health else self.damage; } }; pub fn main() void { // Look at all of these aliens of various strengths! var aliens = [_]Alien{ Alien.hatch(2), Alien.hatch(1), Alien.hatch(3), Alien.hatch(3), Alien.hatch(5), Alien.hatch(3), }; var aliens_alive = aliens.len; const heat_ray = HeatRay{ .damage = 7 }; // We've been given a heat ray weapon. // We'll keep checking to see if we've killed all the aliens yet. while (aliens_alive > 0) { aliens_alive = 0; // Loop through every alien by reference (* makes a pointer capture value) for (&aliens) |*alien| { // *** Zap the alien with the heat ray here! *** heat_ray.zap(alien); // If the alien's health is still above 0, it's still alive. if (alien.health > 0) aliens_alive += 1; } std.debug.print("{} aliens. ", .{aliens_alive}); } std.debug.print("Earth is saved!\n", .{}); }