Strange groovy closure construction

Question

How this code works in groovysh:

whatever: { x = 1+1 }

I dont understand how Groovy execute this closure and how interpreted this:'\<anyText\> :'. For calling closure used () or call() according documentation. Groovy doesnt have ':' operator.

I seen this this code in Jenkinsfile and tried to analyze it. I used groovysh, code is worked, and i dont understand how it works.

Answer 1

This is a part of a bigger Groovy's map literal, with String (whatever) as a key, and Closure { x = 1+1 } as a value. Highly likely, the brackets around the map literal [] are ommitted.

I can assume, that the code is evaluated in some DSL-builder, where the closure gets executed and together with the key is added in some way to the result.

x inside the Closure refers to a local variable either in DSL-script or in the builder.

If you look at a bigger picture, the things will start make sense very quick.