4.6.4 Use of let to declare local variables

When a function returns multiple values, you can use let to store each returned value in a local variable, as shown in lines 2 and 3 of the decode-total-seconds method in Section 4.6.2. On line 2, we use let to declare two local variables, named total-minutes and seconds, and to initialize their values to the two values returned by the truncate/ function. Similarly, on line 3, we use let to declare the local variables hours and minutes.

The local variables declared by let can be used within the method until the method's end. Although there is no begin to define explicitly the beginning of a body for local variables, define method begins a body, and its end finishes that body. Local variables are scoped within the smallest body that surrounds them, so you can use begin and end within a method to define a smaller body for local variables, although doing so is usually not necessary.