Interface Variable

src/main/java/org/codehaus/groovy/ast/Variable.java:41–186

Interface marking an AST node as representing a variable in Groovy/Java scope. Typical implementations include org.codehaus.groovy.ast.expr.VariableExpression, FieldNode, PropertyNode, and Parameter. Provides unified access to variable metadata such as type, scope con

 * @see Parameter
 */
public interface Variable {

    /**
     * Returns the name of the variable.
     *
     * @return the variable name
     */
    String getName();

    /**
     * Returns the type of the variable. If the type is not yet determined,
     * implementations may return a dynamic or placeholder type.
     *
     * @return the {@link ClassNode} representing this variable's type
     */
    ClassNode getType();

    /**
     * Returns the original type of this variable before any type wrapping or transformation.
     * For primitive types, this preserves the distinction between boxed and unboxed forms.
     *
     * @return the original {@link ClassNode} before transformations
     */
    ClassNode getOriginType();

    /**
     * Returns the initialization expression for this variable, or null if no initialization is present.
     * For fields and local variables, this may contain the right-hand side of an assignment;
     * for parameters, this represents a default value.
     *
     * @return the initialization {@link Expression}, or null
     */
    Expression getInitialExpression();

    /**
     * Returns true if this variable has an initialization expression.
     *
     * @return true if initialized
     */
    boolean hasInitialExpression();

    /**
     * Returns true if this variable is shared with and accessed by nested closures.
     * Shared variables require special handling in bytecode generation to ensure proper access semantics.
     *
     * @return true if shared with closures
     */
    default boolean isClosureSharedVariable() {
        return false;
    }

    /**
     * Marks this variable as shared with nested closures.
     * This affects code generation and variable access patterns.
     *
     * @param inClosure true if shared with closures
     */
    default void setClosureSharedVariable(boolean inClosure) {