Lesson 1.2: Variables

alphanumeric values

Characters that include both letters (A–Z) and numbers (0–9).

assignment operator

A symbol used to assign a value to a variable, typically =.

assignment statement

A line of code that assigns a value to a variable, like x = 5.

binary operator

An operator that takes two operands, such as +, -, *, and /.

camel casing

A naming convention where the first letter is lowercase and each subsequent word starts with an uppercase letter, like myVariableName.

garbage

Unused or leftover data in memory that the program no longer needs or references.

Hungarian notation

A naming convention where the name of a variable starts with a prefix indicating its type, like strName for a string variable.

identifier

A name given to a variable, function, or other item in code to identify it.

initializing a variable

Assigning an initial value to a variable when it is declared, like int x = 10.

kebob case

A naming convention where words are all lowercase and separated by hyphens, like my-variable-name.

keyword (reserved word)

A reserved word in a programming language that has a specific meaning and cannot be used as an identifier, like if, while, and class.

lvalue

An expression that refers to a memory location, which can appear on the left side of an assignment, like x in x = 5.

mixed case with underscores

A naming convention that combines uppercase and lowercase letters with underscores between words, like My_Variable_Name.

numeric constant

A fixed number value written directly in the code, like 42.

numeric variable

A variable that holds a number value.

operand

A value or variable on which an operator acts, like 3 and 5 in 3 + 5.

Pascal casing

A naming convention in which each word in the name starts with an uppercase letter, like MyVariableName.

right-to-left associativity

The order in which operations are performed in expressions where operators of the same precedence appear, processed from right to left.

snake casing

A naming convention in which words are all lowercase and separated by underscores, like my_variable_name.

string constant

A fixed sequence of characters written directly in the code, like 'Hello, World!'.

string variable

A variable that holds a sequence of characters (a string).

type safety

Ensuring a variable is only used in ways consistent with its data type, preventing type errors.

unnamed constant

A fixed value used directly in code without assigning it to a variable, also known as a magic number, like 3.14 for π.

variable

A named storage location in memory that can hold different values throughout a program.