PYTHON VARIABLES AND DATA TYPES
In Python, variables are used to store values that can be later used in the program. These values can be of different types, such as integers, floats, strings, and more complex objects like lists, dictionaries, and tuples.
Here are some commonly used data types in Python:
1. Integer (int): an integer is a whole number without a decimal point. For example, 2, 10, 100, etc.
2. Float: a float is a decimal number. For example, 2.5, 3.14, 0.01, etc.
3. String (str): a string is a sequence of characters. Strings are enclosed in either single or double quotes. For example, “Hello”, ‘World’, “1234”, etc.
4. Boolean (bool): a boolean is a data type that can have one of two values: True or False.
5. List: a list is an ordered collection of elements. Elements can be of any data type. For example, [1, 2, 3], [“a”, “b”, “c”], [1, “a”, 3.14], etc.
6. Tuple: a tuple is similar to a list, but it is immutable (cannot be changed). Tuples are written using parentheses instead of square brackets. For example, (1, 2, 3), (“a”, “b”, “c”), (1, “a”, 3.14), etc.
7. Dictionary: a dictionary is an unordered collection of key-value pairs. Keys must be unique and can be of any data type, while values can be of any data type. For example, {“name”: “John”, “age”: 25, “location”: “California”}, {“1”: “one”, “2”: “two”, “3”: “three”}, etc.
To assign a value to a variable in Python, you simply use the equals sign (=). For example,
python
x = 5 # assigning an integer value to the variable x
y = “Hello” # assigning a string value to the variable y
Python is a dynamically typed language, which means that you don’t need to declare the type of a variable explicitly. The data type of a variable is determined based on the value that is assigned to it. For example,
python
x = 5 # x is of type int
x = 3.14 # now x is of type float
y = “Hello” # y is of type str
y = 1234 # now y is of type int
You can also find out the type of a variable using the type() function. For example,
python
x = 5
print(type(x)) # output: <class ‘int’>
y = “Hello”
print(type(y)) # output: <class ‘str’>
Python also supports type conversion, which means that you can convert a value from one data type to another. For example,
python
x = 5
y = str(x) # converting integer to string
print(type(y)) # output: <class ‘str’>
z = float(x) # converting integer to float
print(type(z)) # output: <class ‘float’>
a = “123”
b = int(a) # converting string to integer
print(type(b)) # output: <class ‘int’>
In summary, variables and data types are essential in Python programming. Understanding the different data types and how to use them will help you write more complex programs.