Types: Annotations

There are three (and only three) places where types can be explicitly annotated in Hack:

• Function/method returns
• Parameters
• Class Properties

Function and Method Returns

Function and method return types are annotated with a : following the name and parameter list of the function or method as follows:

function <name>([parameters]): <type>
function foo(): int {}

NOTE: You can have whitespace between the name/parameter list and the :. NOTE: Closures can have return types annotated too

Function and Method Parameters

Function and method parameters are annotated with the type before the parameter name as follows:

function <name>(<ptype> <$pname>): <rtype>
function foo(int $x): void {}

NOTE: Default arguments to a parameter must match the type annotation provided.

Class Properties

Class properties are annotated with the type before the property name as follows:

<modifiers> <type> <$pname>;
public int $x;

Abstract final classes

A class in Hack can be marked both abstract and final. This means the class can only have static methods and properties, and no constructor. A property is annotated with static, in addition to the data type.

abstract final class X {
  public static array<int> $a = array();
}

Abstract class constants

In addition to typing properties with their data type, you can also declare constants abstract in an abstract class or interface.

interface I {
  abstract const int MY_CONST;
}

abstract class Y {
  abstract const int MY_CONST;
}

Local variables

You DO NOT type annotate local variables. They are inferred by the typechecker automatically.