Variable

Variables are containers for storing data values.

In C, there are different types of variables (defined with different keywords), for example:

• int - stores integers (whole numbers), without decimals, such as 123 or -123
• float - stores floating point numbers, with decimals, such as 19.99 or -19.99
• char - stores single characters, such as 'a' or 'B'. Char values are surrounded by single quotes

Declaring (Creating) Variables

To create a variable, specify the type and assign it a value:

    
        Syntax
        type variableName = value;
    

Where type is one of C types (such as int), and variableName is the name of the variable (such as x or myName). The equal sign is used to assign a value to the variable.

So, to create a variable that should store a number, look at the following example:

Example :

Create a variable called myNum of type int and assign the value 15 to it:

    
        int myNum = 15;
    

You can also declare a variable without assigning the value, and assign the value later:

    
        int myNum;
        myNum = 15;
    

Note: If you assign a new value to an existing variable, it will overwrite the previous value:

    
        int myNum = 15; // myNum is 15
        myNum = 10; // Now myNum is 10
    

In many other programming languages (like Python, Java, and C++), you would normally use a print function to display the value of a variable. However, this is not possible in C:

    
        int myNum = 15;
        printf(myNum); // Nothing happens
    

To output variables in C, you must get familiar with something called "format specifiers".