Types Overview

LPCDoc supports type annotations to improve clarity in documentation. Types are used in @type, @param, and @returns tags to indicate expected values.

Basic Types

LPCDoc recognizes the following primitive types:

• int - An integer.
• float - A floating-point number.
• string - A sequence of characters.
• object - An instance of an LPC object.
• mapping - A key-value data structure.
• mixed - Represents a value that could be of any type.
• function FluffOS - Represents a function value.
• closure LDMud - Represents a closure value.
• buffer FluffOS - A binary data buffer.
• bytes LDMud - A byte sequence for raw binary data.
• symbol LDMud - A quoted identifier for use with lambda closures.
• lwobject LDMud - A lightweight object without persistent identity.
• status LDMud - A historical alias for int.

Modifiers

Modifiers are keywords or symbols that sit next to a type in a declaration. They change how a value is passed, not what type it is, so they are not types themselves.

• & FluffOS - Marks a pass-by-reference parameter. The ref keyword or its & sugar follows the type in both places, so the annotation mirrors the signature — code int & name (or int ref name) pairs with @param {int} & name. See Reference parameters.
• ... - Marks a variadic (rest) parameter that accepts any number of trailing arguments. Prefix the type in the annotation — @param {...int} rest.

Composite Types

To indicate more complex types, or to provide more details, use:

• string* - An array of strings. Append * to any type.
• ([ string: int ]) - A mapping where keys are strings and values are integers.
• ([ string: int | undefined ]) - A mapping where the keys are strings, but the values may be int or undefined.
• ([ string: int ])* - An array of mappings where keys are strings and values are integers.
• int | string - A union type, meaning the value could be an int or a string.

Special Cases

• void - Used for functions that do not return a value.
• undefined - Used to indicate a value that is not set or not found.

Examples

/**
 * Converts a number to a string.
 *
 * @param {int} num - The number to convert.
 * @returns {string} The number as a string.
 */
string to_string(int num) {
    return sprintf("%d", num);
}

/**
 * Retrieves an item from a lookup table.
 *
 * @param { ([ string: mixed ]) } table - The lookup table.
 * @param {string} key - The key to look up.
 * @returns {mixed} The value associated with the key.
 */
mixed get_item(mapping table, string key) {
    return table[key];
}