What is the := operator?
colon-equals, operator-keyword, programming-languages, syntax
Solution
In all languages that support an operator `:=` it means assignment.
- In languages that support an operator `:=`, the `=` operator usually means an equality comparison.
- In languages where `=` means assignment, `==` is typically used for equality comparison.
does `:=` mean `=`?
I can't recall any languages where `:=` means the same as `=`.
In MySQL `:=` and `=` are both used for assignment, however they are not interchangeable and selecting the correct one depends on the context. To make matters more confusing the `=` operator is also used for comparison. The interpretation of `=` as either assignment or comparison also depends on context.
Problem
In some programming languages, I see (ex.): ``` x := y ``` What is this `:=` operator generally called and what does it do?