How does return work and what is it used for?
So I've only used return for on thing and that's to return end. Ex,
1 | if not player then return end |
But I really don't know anything else. Let's say I do something like this,
1 | local x = 5 |
2 | function oddOrEven(x) |
3 | if x%2 == 0 then |
4 | return false |
5 | else |
6 | return true |
7 | end |
8 | end |
9 | oddOrEven(x) |
How would you get if its true or false. And yes this might be unnecessary in the example but because of my lack of knowledge on returns I don't really know what they would be used for. If someone could tell me how return works and what it's used for I would be really happy (:
Also, I'm okay at roblox scripting I just haven't gotten around to how return works.
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2 answers
When using return:
When return is used in a function, the function stops executing. The function now holds the values returned. * Notice that *return does not execute in a Module Script.
Examine this code to understand this idea better: Holding a String Value:
01 | function GetRandomString() |
02 | local texts = {"Hello, I'm R15E", "Welcome to Whatever", "Hello World"} -- Some random text |
03 | local randomize = math.random(1,#texts) -- Get a random text |
04 | local picked = texts[randomize] -- Get the string |
05 | return picked -- Code would not work after this is stated, if there is, it would error. |
06 | end |
07 |
08 | function PrintRandom() |
09 | local RandomText = GetRandomString() -- The string value would be returned to this value. |
10 | print(RandomText) -- Now we print the value. |
11 | end |
12 |
13 | PrintRandom() |
Another Example Holding a Boolean Value:
01 | local Enabled = true |
02 |
03 | function Check() -- Checks if the value is true |
04 | if Enabled then |
05 | return true -- this obviously returns "true" |
06 | else |
07 | return false -- this obviously returns "false" |
08 | end |
09 | end |
10 |
11 | if Check() then -- In this case, it returns true, the rest of the code is executed. |
12 | game.Workspace.Music:Play() -- Just something random happens if it returns true. |
13 | end |
Obviously the above code wouldn't need to execute the code as you can just check if the value is true or false. But, it's just an example.
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return puts whatever is returned where the function is called. For example:
1 | local function addNum(x, y) |
2 | return x+y; |
3 | end |
4 |
5 | print(addNum(2, 2)); --in this case prints 4 |
6 |
7 | -- putting return in the function makes the function call act like this: |
8 | print(2+2); |
You could also use return for logic comparisons.
01 | local function minPlayersReached() |
02 | if game.Players.NumPlayers >= 2 then |
03 | return true; |
04 | else |
05 | return false; |
06 | end |
07 | end |
08 |
09 | if gameStarted and minPlayersReached() then --assuming gameStarted is some defined variable |
10 | callNextFunction(); |
11 | end |
Additionally, return exits a function.
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