enkeltoewijzingsvorm

Enkeltoewijzingsvorm, meaning "single assignment form" in Dutch, is a programming language concept. It refers to a variable that can be assigned a value only once during its lifetime. Once a value has been assigned to a variable that adheres to the enkeltoewijzingsvorm principle, that variable cannot be reassigned to a different value. This contrasts with mutable variables, which can be updated multiple times.

The primary benefit of enkeltoewijzingsvorm is enhanced predictability and easier reasoning about program state. Since a variable's value never changes after its initial assignment, developers don't need to track potential modifications. This can significantly reduce the occurrence of bugs, particularly in concurrent programming scenarios where shared mutable state can lead to race conditions. Languages that embrace functional programming paradigms often favor enkeltoewijzingsvorm to promote immutability. Examples include variables declared with `val` in Scala or `let` in Swift when not re-declared. While it can sometimes require a different approach to programming, the clarity and safety it provides are considered valuable in many software development contexts.