format: say that a scope's variables are visible only within its in

Author: gnidan

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -53,6 +53,19 @@ The sections do not signal obligations; the prefixes do.
 
 ## Unreleased
 
+### Changed
+
+- The variables of a scope (`define`/`in`) are visible only within its `in`.
+  Pointers outside the scope, such as later members of an enclosing group, do
+  not see them, and a variable defined with an outer variable's identifier
+  shadows it only within `in`. The description now says so ([#318]).
+  - Schemas: **ethdebug/format/pointer/collection/scope**
+  - Producers: no change needed. The text states the existing meaning; solc's
+    storage templates already depend on it.
+  - Consumers: required: a consumer that keeps a scope's variables after its
+    `in` must discard them there. `@ethdebug/pointers` does so from
+    [#317].
+
 ## 0.1.0-draft.1 — 2026-10-03
 
 ### Added
@@ -660,3 +673,5 @@ First published version of the specification.
 [#303]: https://github.com/ethdebug/format/pull/303
 [#305]: https://github.com/ethdebug/format/pull/305
 [#309]: https://github.com/ethdebug/format/pull/309
+[#317]: https://github.com/ethdebug/format/pull/317
+[#318]: https://github.com/ethdebug/format/pull/318

packages/web/docs/core-schemas/pointers/collections.mdx

@@ -85,7 +85,9 @@ evaluates to a non-zero value.
 ## Scope
 
 A **scope** defines variables that can be used in a nested pointer. Variables
-are evaluated in order, so later variables can reference earlier ones.
+are evaluated in order, so later variables can reference earlier ones. They are
+visible only within `in`: pointers outside the scope, such as later members of
+an enclosing group, do not see them.
 
 Scopes help break complex pointer definitions into readable steps. For examples
 combining scopes with keccak256 for storage slot computation, see the

schemas/pointer/collection/scope.schema.yaml

@@ -10,6 +10,11 @@ description: |
   expression by identifier. Variables are specified **in order**, so that
   later appearing variables may reference earlier ones in the same object.
 
+  The variables are visible only within `in`. Pointers outside this scope
+  do not see them: later members of an enclosing group, for example, see
+  only the variables of their own enclosing scopes. A variable defined here
+  with the same identifier as an outer variable shadows it within `in`.
+
 type: object
 
 properties: