Every variable has a data type, determining what sort of data it can hold. Python has a bazillion data types, but we only use a few in this course.
String
A string can contain any sequence of characters you can type, like Doggos rule! and ╟Φ╟ (kinda looks a Tie fighter).
String constants are delimited by quotes. E.g.,
- 'This is the song that never ends'
- "There's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza"
Integer
A whole number, like 17 or -3332.
Float
A number that can have a decimal component, like 3.14159, -3929.4, or 32.0.
Boolean
A value that's either True or False. Often used to track whether something has happened or not.
List
A list is a sequence of individual values. The values can be strings, floats, dictionaries, other lists, anything.
Here's a list of strings, Australian state names.
- states = ['Queensland', 'New South Wales', 'Victoria',
- 'Tasmania', 'South Australia', 'Western Australia']
Brackets [] denote lists.
Add items to a list: thelist.append(something)
Dictionary
A dictionary is a set of key/value pairs. The keys are usually strings. The values can be anything. Add as many key/value pairs as you like.
For example,
- best_pokemon = {
- 'name': 'Snorlax',
- 'generation': 1,
- 'pokedex number': 143
- }
Access values using keys:
- best_pokemon['weight'] = 'A lot!'
- print(best_pokemon['weight'])