Variables and Data Types

Abstract

In the previous chapter, you learned that a variable is a unit of data with an identifier, which is held in your computer’s memory; it can be changed by putting a new value into it or modifying the value that is already there. In this chapter, I will be introducing some of the different types of variable that are available for you to use in your programs, and I’ll be showing you how to build them into the expressions and statements of Python that will allow you to turn your designs into working code. This is where you start to do some real programming. You will be creating two programs from scratch in this chapter: one to manipulate and format simple text strings and a script that performs a mathematical calculation. All this is made possible by using variables.