[rbonvall]

I'm sure he means `val` as in Scala, where it is used to define a name that cannot be rebound:

    val x = 1
    var y = 2
    x = 3     // compile error
    y = 4     // ok

It makes it easier to read code since you don't have to keep track of changes in your head.

[saagarjha]

Yes, this would be a nice addition, but I think final var might be able to stand in for it as of right now. One issue if it was adopted might be that “final” in Java doesn’t actually mean a whole lot, since there aren’t a lot of value types where mutation can be detected.

[blattimwind]

Or as in Kotlin.