Code before or inside "void setup" ?

Should a line of code should go before void setup, or inside void setup?

e.g. Arduino debounce example:

/*
  Debounce

  Each time the input pin goes from LOW to HIGH (e.g. because of a push-button
  press), the output pin is toggled from LOW to HIGH or HIGH to LOW. There's a
  minimum delay between toggles to debounce the circuit (i.e. to ignore noise).

  The circuit:
  - LED attached from pin 13 to ground
  - pushbutton attached from pin 2 to +5V
  - 10 kilohm resistor attached from pin 2 to ground

  - Note: On most Arduino boards, there is already an LED on the board connected
    to pin 13, so you don't need any extra components for this example.

  created 21 Nov 2006
  by David A. Mellis
  modified 30 Aug 2011
  by Limor Fried
  modified 28 Dec 2012
  by Mike Walters
  modified 30 Aug 2016
  by Arturo Guadalupi

  This example code is in the public domain.

  http://www.arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/Debounce
*/

// constants won't change. They're used here to set pin numbers:
const int buttonPin = 2;    // the number of the pushbutton pin
const int ledPin = 13;      // the number of the LED pin

// Variables will change:
int ledState = HIGH;         // the current state of the output pin
int buttonState;             // the current reading from the input pin
int lastButtonState = LOW;   // the previous reading from the input pin

// the following variables are unsigned longs because the time, measured in
// milliseconds, will quickly become a bigger number than can be stored in an int.
unsigned long lastDebounceTime = 0;  // the last time the output pin was toggled
unsigned long debounceDelay = 50;    // the debounce time; increase if the output flickers

void setup() {
  pinMode(buttonPin, INPUT);
  pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT);

  // set initial LED state
  digitalWrite(ledPin, ledState);
}

void loop() {
  // read the state of the switch into a local variable:
  int reading = digitalRead(buttonPin);

  // check to see if you just pressed the button
  // (i.e. the input went from LOW to HIGH), and you've waited long enough
  // since the last press to ignore any noise:

  // If the switch changed, due to noise or pressing:
  if (reading != lastButtonState) {
    // reset the debouncing timer
    lastDebounceTime = millis();
  }

  if ((millis() - lastDebounceTime) > debounceDelay) {
    // whatever the reading is at, it's been there for longer than the debounce
    // delay, so take it as the actual current state:

    // if the button state has changed:
    if (reading != buttonState) {
      buttonState = reading;

      // only toggle the LED if the new button state is HIGH
      if (buttonState == HIGH) {
        ledState = !ledState;
      }
    }
  }

  // set the LED:
  digitalWrite(ledPin, ledState);

  // save the reading. Next time through the loop, it'll be the lastButtonState:
  lastButtonState = reading;
}

It seems to me that:

Before setup void
Setup constants
Setup variables

Inside void setup
Setup constants as inputs/outputs
Write the initial variable states to the hardware

Does it always matter?

All code must be in a function

Variables declared before setup() have global scope (are available anywhere in the program)

Variables declared in a function are only available in that function

To expand on that
You cannot later change the value assigned to constants
You can assign values to variables (except conts) either when declared or anywhere in their scope

Edit
You should read up on variable cope in C

You should read up on variable scope in C

UKHeliBob:
Variables declared before setup() have global scope (are available anywhere in the program)
Variables declared in a function are only available in that function

That's what I needed to know thanks

UKHeliBob:
You should read up on variable cope in C

Will do, thank you.

Note that @UKHeliBob meant (if you did not figure it out) "variable Scope" (for example read this for the base knowledge and read that for heavy details)

For the most part, the compiler will tell you (possibly cryptically) if you have something declared in the wrong place or that you have tried to write code outside a function.

The exception is where you have mistakenly declared a global variable and a local variable with the same name. That's perfectly legal C++, but in an Arduino sketch is quite likely not was intended.

J-M-L:
Note that @UKHeliBob meant (if you did not figure it out) "variable Scope"

Thanks for spotting that

Thanks all, I did notice it was meant to be scope :slight_smile: