Python variables and datatypes : even a kid can understand my explanation!
Tags: python, basics, programming, beginners
Published: 2021-12-28 16:29:50



## Before getting started:
To write python code you will need some sort of a text editor or an IDE (<u>I</u>ntegrated <u>D</u>evelopment <u>E</u>nvironment ) to highlight and execute the code you write,  when you install python it comes with its own **IDLE**, it contains **two main components**: the shell and the text editor. The shell appears when you run the code, you can also type a code that you want and it will be executed immediately, for now, we want to use the text editor. you can search for it and double-click it to open it, if you are done, you are ready to go and continue the tutorial. open a new file from the file menu.



![IDLE](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/dx7pa1kbtfrea5m096v9.png)

## What is a Variable?

A Variable is nothing but a container where you can store a certain value. Variables can store different types of data(We will talk about data types later). To declare a variable you have to give it a name and assign it to a value using the **assignment operator " = "**. A valid variable name has certain conditions :

- it must start with a letter or underscore character " _ ".
- it can't start with a number.
- it can contain only alpha-numeric characters and underscores(A-Z, 0-9, " _ ").
- variables in python are case-sensitive(variable isn't the same as VARIABlE and not as Variable).

**you can declare a variable as below: 
**

```python

variable_name = "value"
```
to show things on the screen you can use `print()` and type the thing you want to show or the variable name:

```python

variable = 1
print(variable)
# the output : 1
```

## Main Datatypes :

- `Int` : integer numbers 
- `float` : number with decimal point.
- `Str`: string, any series of characters included between quotes (double quotes " " or single quotes ' ' ).
- `Bool`: boolean value, has one of the two values `True` or `False`.
- `None`: means null, undefined variables and objects.
- `list` : can store more than one piece of data.
- `dict`: dictionary , used to store key-value pairs( each property associated with its own value).

```python
age = 15 # int
pi = 3.14 # float
name = "Rawan Amr" # String
isProgrammer = True # Boolean
Nothing = None # none, we usually don't declare None variables this way , we will learn about it later
fruits = ["apple", "strawberry", "bananas"] # list
phoneBook = {
   "Rawan" : "123456",
    "Amr" : "678910",
    "Abdulsattar" : "2468"
} # Dictionary
```


## Notes :

1 . Everything greyed out (not highlighted) after " #" is called a comment, you write them to explain to yourself and others what the code does. 

```python
# I am an comment
```

2 . In Python we don't put a semicolon "; " after the end of each line, you don't have to do it as you do in many other languages as Dart for example.


## So,
That was it for this post , follow me , like ,share if you like it and if you have any comments type them in the comment section below and thanks for reading.

Information about me :

- Name: Rawan Amr Abdulsattar
- Gender: female
- Nationality: Egyptian
- Blog: https://codewithrona.blogspot.com/
- Email address: rawanamrabdulsattar@gmail.com
- Dev.To account: https://dev.to/rawan_amr_abdulsattar
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