Understanding scope of variables

[georgeo]

Hi everyone,

In ZXBASIC, is this a valid program?

Code:

function myFunction( name$ as string ) as uinteger
    dim length, n as ubyte
    dim total as uinteger = 0

    length = len(name$)

    if length=0 then
    return total
    end if

    for n = 0 to length-1
    total = total + code(name$(n))
    next n
   
    return total
end function

REM Main program
dim n as ubyte
dim ans as uinteger

n = 14
ans = myFunction("Hello")

print "Answer = " + str$(ans)
print "n = " + str$(n)

stop

I have a variable labelled 'n' in both the top-level program and a function. I believe, in the function, 'n' is a different, locally defined variable, which is deleted when the function ends.

Would the same work, if I replaced the function with a subroutine (accepting I couldn't return an answer in the same way)?

I ask as I am seeing unexpected behaviour in my program (not the one above, a much longer program) and one possibility is that I'm using the same variable names for different entities in both the top-level program and subroutines.

Thanks in advance for any help