Subjects Courses Degrees For Business Sign in Register
All news FutureLearn Local Press Insights How To What Is
Home / IT & Computer Science / Coding & Programming / Introduction to Programming with Python / Python Variables
Python Variables This article is from the online course:
Python variables are simply containers for storing data values. Unlike other Introduction to Programming with
languages, such as Java, Python has no command for declaring a variable, so you Python
create one the moment you first assign a value to it.
Python variables are simply containers for storing data values. Unlike other languages,
such as Java, Python has no command for declaring a variable, so you create one the
moment you first assign a value to it.
Created by
First, let’s define a variable. A variable is a placeholder for information you want
Python to recall later in the coding process when you need to complete an action.
Technically, the variable acts as an address for where the data is stored in memory. A
Python variable may be assigned a value of one type and then later re-assigned a
value of a different type. For example, x = "apples" can later be x = 5.
Want to keep Join Now
learning?
This content is taken from
FutureLearn online course,
View
Introduction to Programming Course
with Python
Variables in programming are similar to variables that you might have encountered
while learning algebra. Like in an algebraic equation, variables allow you to write
programs that process information without having all the values up front. Unlike
algebraic variables, however, programming variables can represent a much wider
variety of information.
Want to keep
learning?
This content is taken from
FutureLearn online course, View
Course
Introduction to Programming with
Python
Python data types
Let’s explore some detailed examples of the different data types you can find in
Python. Remember to practise your coding skills by writing and running the examples
in PyCharm.
Strings
String is a text data type. Python has powerful and flexible built-in string (str)
processing capabilities. The value of a str object is a sequence of characters. You can
delimit string values with either single quotes (' ') or double quotes (" "). All the
characters between the opening and closing delimiter are part of the string.
Try these examples in PyCharm:
Code:
sentence = 'This is a string in single quotes'
print(sentence)
Output:
This is a string in single quotes
Code:
sentence = "This is a string in double quotes"
print(sentence)
Output:
This is a string in double quotes
For multi-line strings with line breaks, you can use triple quotes. Try these examples:
Code:
str_a = """This is a multiline string
Line 1 added
Line 2 added
Line 3 added
"""
print(str_a)
Output:
This is a multiline string
Line 1 added
Line 2 added
Line 3 added
Code:
str_b = '''This is a multiline string using triple quote notation with single quote
Line 1 added
Line 2 added
Let's close this string
'''
print(str_b)
Output:
This is a multi-line string using triple quote notation with single quote
Line 1 added
Line 2 added
Let's close this string
You can also print selected characters from a string. Try this code example:
a = "This is a longer string"
print(a[1], a[2], a[10])
Output:
h i l
You printed the characters at index 1, index 2, and index 10. Note that the index count
starts at 0. That is, in ‘This’, index 0 is ‘T’.
Python strings are immutable; that is, you cannot modify a string without creating a
new string variable, or assigning a completely new string value to the variable.
Use this variable from a previous example in PyCharm:
print(str_b)
Output:
This is a multi-line string using triple quote notation with single quote
Line 1 added
Line 2 added
Let's close this string
Now try to modify the string in the previous example:
#Let's try to modify str_b now, it will give a runtime error
str_b[10]='S'
Output:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "<stdin>", line 2, in <module>
TypeError: 'str' object does not support item assignment
As you can see, you will get an error message when you attempt to modify a string; in
this case, by changing a single character.
Concatenating strings
Concatenation means to combine two or more strings. Once you assign string values
to the new variables, you can join them. To explore this concept further, follow the
code:
first_name = 'Jane'
last_name = 'Doe'
print(first_name + last_name)
Output:
JaneDoe
Now, let’s adjust so that there is a space between first_name and last_name
when they are concatenated:
first_name = 'Jane'
last_name = 'Doe'
print(first_name + ' ' + last_name)
Output:
Jane Doe
You had to add an empty space within quotation marks, since there was neither a
space at the end of the first_name variable nor at the beginning of the
last_name variable.
You will examine more examples related to this while learning about if/else
statements later in the module.
Numeric types
Integers (int) and floats (float) are numeric types, which means they hold
numbers. You can perform mathematical operations with them. The Python interpreter
can then evaluate these expressions to produce numeric values.
You can use the type() function to return the type of a value of variable. Try this
code example:
print(type(987653))
Output:
<class 'int'>
Floating Point Numbers
Floating point numbers (numbers containing a decimal point) are represented with the
Python float type.
Try this example:
fval = 10.54
print(fval)
Output:
10.54
You can also assign values to float type using scientific notations, which is useful
when working with very large numbers. Try this example:
fval2 = 5.64e-5
print(fval2)
Output:
5.64e-05
In Python 3, which is the version you’re using, dividing an integer with a result that is
not a whole number will always yield a floating-point number.
Try these examples to see for yourself:
Code:
print(4/3)
Output:
1.3333333333333333
Code:
print(type(4/3))
Output:
<class 'float'>
Python Booleans
Most objects in Python have a characteristic of True or False. Python also provides a
boolean data type. Objects of this data type may have one of two values: True or
False. The most common (and simplest) example of Booleans is a filter where all the
records that meet a condition (True) are returned, like when using Microsoft Excel and
you filter for a specific value in a field.
Try these code examples for yourself:
is_true = True
is_false= False
print(is_true, is_false)
Output:
True False
Using Booleans with ‘and’ and ‘or’ keywords
Code:
is_true = True
is_false= False
print(is_true and is_false)
print(is_true or is_false)
Output:
False
True
In these examples, you can see that if one of the variables is False with an and
keyword, the overall result is False. In contrast, if either variable is True with an or
keyword, the overall result is True. For example, if you had three brown cats and one
black cat and your logic was ‘Are the cats brown?’, this would be True for three of the
cats, but False for the black cat. If your logic was ‘Are there cats that are brown and
black?’ this would return as False as there are no cats that are both black and brown.
If your logic was ‘Are there cats that are brown or black?’ this would return as True for
all four cats.
Try changing the initial values in previous examples and see how the outputs changes.
Want to keep learning?
This content is taken from FutureLearn online course
Introduction to Programming with Python
View Course
Share this step
See other articles from this course
This article is from the free online
Introduction to Programming with Python
Created by
Join Now
Reach your personal and professional goals
Unlock access to hundreds of expert online courses and degrees from top universities and educators to gain accredited qualifications and professional CV-building
certificates.
Join over 18 million learners to launch, switch or build upon your career, all at your own pace, across a wide range of topic areas.
Start Learning now
Register to receive updates
Create an account to receive our newsletter, course recommendations and promotions.
Register for free
Subjects Short courses ExpertTracks Microcredentials Online degrees
Find the ideal course for Learn new skills with a Upskill with a series of Earn professional or Study flexibly online as
you flexible online course specialist courses academic accreditation you build to a degree
Discover our range of courses
Online Courses
Online Certifications
Microcredentials
Online Bootcamps
Online Degrees
Online Master’s Degrees
Online Bachelor’s Degrees
Online Postgraduate Certificates
Course Subjects
Business and Management
Healthcare and Medicine
Teaching
Psychology and Mental Health
IT and Computer Science
Language
Creative Arts & Media
Science, Engineering & Maths
Learn a new skill
Digital Marketing
Data Analytics
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Data Science
Human Resources (HR)
Cyber Security
Project Management
Coding & Programming
Course collections
Explore our online degrees
Online MBAs
Psychology Degrees
Teaching Degrees
IT & Computer Science Degrees
Data Science Degrees
PGCE
Software Engineering Degrees
Business & Management Degrees
Earn a master's degree online
Master's Degrees in Psychology
Master's Degrees in Computer Science
Master's Degrees in Data Science
Master's Degrees in Digital Marketing
Master's Degrees in Public Health
Master's Degrees in Finance
Master's Degrees in Economics
Master's Degrees in Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Earn a bachelor's degree online
Bachelor's Degrees in Healthcare
Bachelor's Degrees in Psychology
Bachelor's Degrees in Accounting
Bachelor's Degrees in Economics
Bachelor's Degrees in Finance
Bachelor's Degrees in Project Management
Bachelor's Degrees in Business & Management
About FutureLearn
The FutureLearn leadership team
Work at FutureLearn
Press
Blog
Using FutureLearn
Using our platform
FutureLearn Reviews
Learning guide
Certificates
Unlimited
Request a free CV Review
Work with FutureLearn
Our partners
FutureLearn for Universities
FutureLearn for Business
FutureLearn for Government
FutureLearn for Schools
FutureLearn for Affiliates
Small Print
T&Cs
Privacy policy
Refund policy
Cookie policy
Code of conduct
Accessibility policy
Sitemap
Open steps sitemap
Need some help?
Child safety
Help Centre
Contact
