Can def define a variable in scala?

Question

When I read the source code of Spark, I see this in the RDD class:

def getStorageLevel = storageLevel

What does this statement mean?

Is it defining a variable? If yes, why we don't use var instead? Or is it a function? If yes, why they do not define the parameters and return values at the same time?

Answer 1

Is it defining a variable?

No. It's defining a method.

Or is it a function?

No. It's a method.

If yes, why they do not define the parameters and return values at the same time?

I don't understand the question. There are no parameters here, the method has zero parameter lists.

Answer 2

Yes, it's a method that always returns the storageLevel value.