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Python Variable Types Explained

The document provides an overview of variable types in Python. It discusses that variables are reserved memory locations that store values of different data types, including numbers, strings, lists, tuples and dictionaries. It describes how to assign values to variables and perform operations like multiple assignment and deletion. It also summarizes the standard Python data types of integers, floats, complex numbers, strings and lists, providing examples of each.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
16 views13 pages

Python Variable Types Explained

The document provides an overview of variable types in Python. It discusses that variables are reserved memory locations that store values of different data types, including numbers, strings, lists, tuples and dictionaries. It describes how to assign values to variables and perform operations like multiple assignment and deletion. It also summarizes the standard Python data types of integers, floats, complex numbers, strings and lists, providing examples of each.

Uploaded by

Kara hema
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Python - Variable Types - Tutorialspoint [Link]

htm

Python - Variable Types

Variables are nothing but reserved memory locations to store


values. This means that when you create a variable you reserve
some space in memory.

Based on the data type of a variable, the interpreter allocates


memory and decides what can be stored in the reserved memory.
Therefore, by assigning different data types to variables, you can
store integers, decimals or characters in these variables.

Assigning Values to Variables


Python variables do not need explicit declaration to reserve
memory space. The declaration happens automatically when you
assign a value to a variable. The equal sign (=) is used to assign
values to variables.

The operand to the left of the = operator is the name of the


variable and the operand to the right of the = operator is the value
stored in the variable. For example −

Live Demo
#!/usr/bin/python

counter = 100 # An integer assignment


miles = 1000.0 # A floating point
name = "John" # A string

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print counter
print miles
print name

Here, 100, 1000.0 and "John" are the values assigned to counter,
miles, and name variables, respectively. This produces the
following result −

100
1000.0
John

Multiple Assignment
Python allows you to assign a single value to several variables
simultaneously. For example −

a = b = c = 1

Here, an integer object is created with the value 1, and all three
variables are assigned to the same memory location. You can
also assign multiple objects to multiple variables. For example −

a,b,c = 1,2,"john"

Here, two integer objects with values 1 and 2 are assigned to


variables a and b respectively, and one string object with the
value "john" is assigned to the variable c.

Standard Data Types

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The data stored in memory can be of many types. For example, a


person's age is stored as a numeric value and his or her address
is stored as alphanumeric characters. Python has various
standard data types that are used to define the operations
possible on them and the storage method for each of them.

Python has five standard data types −

Numbers
String
List
Tuple
Dictionary

Python Numbers
Number data types store numeric values. Number objects are
created when you assign a value to them. For example −

var1 = 1
var2 = 10

You can also delete the reference to a number object by using the
del statement. The syntax of the del statement is −

del var1[,var2[,var3[....,varN]]]]

You can delete a single object or multiple objects by using the del
statement. For example −

del var

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del var_a, var_b

Python supports four different numerical types −

int (signed integers)


long (long integers, they can also be represented in octal
and hexadecimal)
float (floating point real values)
complex (complex numbers)

Examples
Here are some examples of numbers −

int long float complex

10 51924361L 0.0 3.14j

100 -0x19323L 15.20 45.j

-786 0122L -21.9 9.322e-36j

080 0xDEFABCECBDAECBFBAEl 32.3+e18 .876j

-0490 535633629843L -90. -.6545+0J

-0x260 -052318172735L -32.54e100 3e+26J

0x69 -4721885298529L 70.2-E12 4.53e-7j

Python allows you to use a lowercase l with long, but it is


recommended that you use only an uppercase L to avoid
confusion with the number 1. Python displays long

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integers with an uppercase L.

A complex number consists of an ordered pair of real


floating-point numbers denoted by x + yj, where x and y
are the real numbers and j is the imaginary unit.

Python Strings
Strings in Python are identified as a contiguous set of characters
represented in the quotation marks. Python allows for either pairs
of single or double quotes. Subsets of strings can be taken using
the slice operator ([ ] and [:] ) with indexes starting at 0 in the
beginning of the string and working their way from -1 at the end.

The plus (+) sign is the string concatenation operator and the
asterisk (*) is the repetition operator. For example −

Live Demo
#!/usr/bin/python

str = 'Hello World!'

print str # Prints complete string


print str[0] # Prints first character of the string
print str[2:5] # Prints characters starting from 3rd to 5th
print str[2:] # Prints string starting from 3rd character
print str * 2 # Prints string two times
print str + "TEST" # Prints concatenated string

This will produce the following result −

Hello World!
H

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Python - Variable Types - Tutorialspoint [Link]

llo
llo World!
Hello World!Hello World!
Hello World!TEST

Python Lists
Lists are the most versatile of Python's compound data types. A
list contains items separated by commas and enclosed within
square brackets ([]). To some extent, lists are similar to arrays in
C. One difference between them is that all the items belonging to
a list can be of different data type.

The values stored in a list can be accessed using the slice


operator ([ ] and [:]) with indexes starting at 0 in the beginning of
the list and working their way to end -1. The plus (+) sign is the
list concatenation operator, and the asterisk (*) is the repetition
operator. For example −

#!/usr/bin/python

list = [ 'abcd', 786 , 2.23, 'john', 70.2 ]


tinylist = [123, 'john']

print list # Prints complete list


print list[0] # Prints first element of the list
print list[1:3] # Prints elements starting from 2nd till 3rd
print list[2:] # Prints elements starting from 3rd element
print tinylist * 2 # Prints list two times
print list + tinylist # Prints concatenated lists

This produce the following result −

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['abcd', 786, 2.23, 'john', 70.2]


abcd
[786, 2.23]
[2.23, 'john', 70.2]
[123, 'john', 123, 'john']
['abcd', 786, 2.23, 'john', 70.2, 123, 'john']

Python Tuples
A tuple is another sequence data type that is similar to the list. A
tuple consists of a number of values separated by commas.
Unlike lists, however, tuples are enclosed within parentheses.

The main differences between lists and tuples are: Lists are
enclosed in brackets ( [ ] ) and their elements and size can be
changed, while tuples are enclosed in parentheses ( ( ) ) and
cannot be updated. Tuples can be thought of as read-only lists.
For example −

Live Demo
#!/usr/bin/python

tuple = ( 'abcd', 786 , 2.23, 'john', 70.2 )


tinytuple = (123, 'john')

print tuple # Prints the complete tuple


print tuple[0] # Prints first element of the tuple
print tuple[1:3] # Prints elements of the tuple starting from
print tuple[2:] # Prints elements of the tuple starting from
print tinytuple * 2 # Prints the contents of the tuple twice
print tuple + tinytuple # Prints concatenated tuples

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This produce the following result −

('abcd', 786, 2.23, 'john', 70.2)


abcd
(786, 2.23)
(2.23, 'john', 70.2)
(123, 'john', 123, 'john')
('abcd', 786, 2.23, 'john', 70.2, 123, 'john')

The following code is invalid with tuple, because we attempted to


update a tuple, which is not allowed. Similar case is possible with
lists −

#!/usr/bin/python

tuple = ( 'abcd', 786 , 2.23, 'john', 70.2 )


list = [ 'abcd', 786 , 2.23, 'john', 70.2 ]
tuple[2] = 1000 # Invalid syntax with tuple
list[2] = 1000 # Valid syntax with list

Python Dictionary
Python's dictionaries are kind of hash table type. They work like
associative arrays or hashes found in Perl and consist of key-
value pairs. A dictionary key can be almost any Python type, but
are usually numbers or strings. Values, on the other hand, can be
any arbitrary Python object.

Dictionaries are enclosed by curly braces ({ }) and values can be


assigned and accessed using square braces ([]). For example −

Live Demo

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#!/usr/bin/python

dict = {}
dict['one'] = "This is one"
dict[2] = "This is two"

tinydict = {'name': 'john','code':6734, 'dept': 'sales'

print dict['one'] # Prints value for 'one' key


print dict[2] # Prints value for 2 key
print tinydict # Prints complete dictionary
print [Link]() # Prints all the keys
print [Link]() # Prints all the values

This produce the following result −

This is one
This is two
{'dept': 'sales', 'code': 6734, 'name': 'john'}
['dept', 'code', 'name']
['sales', 6734, 'john']

Dictionaries have no concept of order among elements. It is


incorrect to say that the elements are "out of order"; they are
simply unordered.

Data Type Conversion


Sometimes, you may need to perform conversions between the
built-in types. To convert between types, you simply use the type
name as a function.

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There are several built-in functions to perform conversion from


one data type to another. These functions return a new object
representing the converted value.

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[Link]. Function & Description

1 int(x [,base])

Converts x to an integer. base specifies the base if x is


a string.

2 long(x [,base] )

Converts x to a long integer. base specifies the base if


x is a string.

3 float(x)

Converts x to a floating-point number.

4 complex(real [,imag])

Creates a complex number.

5 str(x)

Converts object x to a string representation.

6 repr(x)

Converts object x to an expression string.

7 eval(str)

Evaluates a string and returns an object.

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8 tuple(s)

Converts s to a tuple.

9 list(s)

Converts s to a list.

10 set(s)

Converts s to a set.

11 dict(d)

Creates a dictionary. d must be a sequence of


(key,value) tuples.

12 frozenset(s)

Converts s to a frozen set.

13 chr(x)

Converts an integer to a character.

14 unichr(x)

Converts an integer to a Unicode character.

15 ord(x)

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Converts a single character to its integer value.

16 hex(x)

Converts an integer to a hexadecimal string.

17 oct(x)

Converts an integer to an octal string.

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Common questions

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Lists in Python are mutable, allowing for changes to elements and the list's size after creation, making them suitable for collections of data that are expected to change over time . Tuples, on the other hand, are immutable, meaning once they are created, their content cannot be altered, which can be advantageous when you want a fixed collection of items, adding a degree of safety against accidental modifications . These properties influence program design by dictating use cases; lists are preferred when the collection requires dynamic behavior, while tuples are ideal when a static list is sufficient and possibly beneficial for performance and data integrity .

Python's slicing capabilities allow for accessing subsets of sequences like strings and lists by specifying start, stop, and step indices in the form [start:stop:step], which is highly versatile for data manipulation tasks . For example, with a string 'Hello World!', slicing str[2:5] yields 'llo', extracting a substring within a range . Similarly, for a list such as ['abcd', 786, 2.23, 'john', 70.2], the operation list[1:3] would result in [786, 2.23], enabling targeted data extraction within sequences . This capability improves the efficiency of data processing tasks by allowing straightforward subsetting, filtering, and iteration over sequences.

Python dictionaries differ from typical associative arrays in that they are implemented as hash table structures, allowing for O(1) average-time complexity for lookups, insertions, and deletions, which is efficient for dynamic and large datasets . Unlike associative arrays in languages that are strictly ordered (e.g., PHP), Python dictionaries maintain insertion order as of Python 3.7, but fundamentally lack a concept of order. This gives flexibility in handling diverse data types for keys, not just strings or integers, enabling richer and more complex data structures . These features make dictionaries particularly suited to tasks demanding robust data manipulation with complex key structures.

Python's data type conversion functions facilitate seamless transition between types, supporting high-level programming needs such as input parsing, data transformation, and API communication . For instance, the int(x) function converts strings like '10' into integers, enabling mathematical operations. Conversely, str(x) transforms objects into readable string formats for logging or user display . Similarly, list(s) can convert tuples or sets into lists, offering flexibility where mutability is required . These conversions underpin diverse programming tasks by ensuring that data types are compatible with the operations intended to be performed on them.

Python variables do not require explicit declaration for memory allocation; this happens automatically when you assign a value to the variable . This dynamic typing allows for flexibility as Python automatically decides the amount of memory to allocate based on the variable's data type. Consequently, this means Python variables can store different types of data, such as integers, floats, or strings, without the need for the programmer to specify these types beforehand .

Python strings support a wide range of operations with operators like + for concatenation and * for repetition, enabling efficient data manipulation tasks . For instance, concatenating 'Hello ' with 'World!' using 'Hello ' + 'World!' produces 'Hello World!', simplifying string assembly for user outputs or log messages . Repetition, achieved with 'Hello' * 3, results in 'HelloHelloHello', facilitating repetitive pattern generation or testing tasks . These operational capabilities enhance Python's utility in text processing, allowing tailored data structuring and transformation with minimal syntax.

Python's dynamic typing, while adding flexibility, can lead to runtime errors not detected during development, such as type mismatches in large systems . This risk grows with the complexity of the codebase, as variable types are inferred at runtime, possibly causing unforeseen side effects and difficult-to-trace errors . Mitigation strategies include employing type annotations and static type checkers like MyPy, which enhance code predictability and maintainability by verifying type contracts without altering Python's dynamic nature . These techniques help ensure robustness by catching potential errors before execution.

Python supports four numerical types: int for signed integers, long for long integers that can be represented in octal or hexadecimal, float for floating-point real values, and complex for complex numbers . Integers and longs can be used in standard arithmetic operations, while floats, with their precision, are suitable for scientific computations. Complex numbers, represented as x + yj where j is the imaginary unit, enable operations in the complex plane, often used in fields like engineering and physics .

Python's native support for complex numbers, a feature not universally available across programming languages, provides significant advantages in scientific computing, where complex numbers are integral . Operations with complex numbers are directly supported using Python’s numeric types, facilitating complex arithmetic without third-party libraries. This intrinsic capability enables straightforward implementation of algorithms requiring complex numbers, such as Fourier transforms or electrical circuit simulations, improving both performance and code simplicity . In contrast, languages without this feature may require cumbersome alternative representations or external libraries, thereby increasing complexity and potential for errors.

Python's built-in functions, such as set(s) and frozenset(s), play a crucial role in creating flexible and efficient data structures for session handling, membership testing, and unique data storage . The set function allows creation of dynamic sets, which can be modified, supporting operations such as union and intersection that enable efficient data comparisons. Frozenset, being immutable, offers performance advantages in concurrent processes or as keys in dictionaries where immutability is required . These constructs improve programming efficiency by streamlining operations on collections and safeguarding data integrity where necessary.

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