Variables are containers for storing data values.
Creating Variables
Python has no command for declaring a variable.
A variable is created the moment you first assign a value to it.
Example
x = 5
y = “John”
print(x)
print(y)
Output:
5
John
Variables do not need to be declared with any particular type, and can even change type after they have been set.
Example
x = 4 # x is of type int
x = “Sally” # x is now of type str
print(x)
Output:
Sally
Casting
If you want to specify the data type of a variable, this can be done with casting.
Example
x = str(3) # x will be ‘3’
y = int(3) # y will be 3
z = float(3) # z will be 3.0
Output:
3
3
3.0
Get the Type
You can get the data type of a variable with the type() function.
Example
x = 5
y = “John”
print(type(x))
print(type(y))
Output:
<class ‘int’>
<class ‘str’>
Single or Double Quotes?
String variables can be declared either by using single or double quotes:
Example
x = “John”
# is the same as
x = ‘John’
Output:
John
John
Case-Sensitive
Variable names are case-sensitive.
Example
This will create two variables:a = 4
A = “Sally”
#A will not overwrite a
Output:
4
Sally