I know you can create an anonymous function, and have the compiler infer its return type:
val x = () => { System.currentTimeMillis }
Just for static typing's sake, is it possible to specify its return type as well? I think it would make things a lot clearer.
In my opinion if you're trying to make things more clear it is better to document the expectation on the identifier x by adding a type annotation there rather than the result of the function.
val x: () => Long = () => System.currentTimeMillis
Then the compiler will ensure that the function on the right hand side meets that expectation.
val x = () => { System.currentTimeMillis } : Long
Fabian gave the straightforward way, but some other ways if you like micromanaging sugar include:
val x = new (() => Long) {
def apply() = System.currentTimeMillis
}
or
val x = new Function0[Long] {
def apply() = System.currentTimeMillis
}
or even
val x = new {
def apply(): Long = System.currentTimeMillis
}
since in most situations it makes no difference if it descends from Function, only whether it has an apply.