Data types in Python
The data type of a variable or object determines which operations can be applied to it. Once a variable is assigned a data type, it can be used for computations in the program.
The best thing about Python is that the data type doesn’t need to be defined when declaring a variable. Data types exist, but the variables are not bound to any of them. Languages that act in this way are called dynamically typed languages.
Variations of data types
There are two kinds of data types, both of which are further divided into sub-types:
-
Primitive data types: Data types which are pre-defined and supported by the programming language.
-
Non-primitive data types: Data types which are derived from the primitive data types and offer increased functionality.
Primitive data sub-types
1. Integer
Integers represent numeric data – they represent whole numbers from negative infinity to infinity.
integer_1 = 100integer_2 = 50# various operations on integersprint (integer_1*integer_2)print (integer_1+integer_2)print (integer_1-integer_2)print (integer_1/integer_2)
2. String
Strings are used to store data that involves characters (e.g., names or addresses). Strings can be created in Python by enclosing a sequence of characters within a pair of single or double-quotes.
string_1 = "Hello"string_2 = "World"print (string_1 + string_2)
3. Boolean
Boolean type only has two types of return values: True and False. These return values are interchangeable with the integers 1 and 0.
# has_passed is a boolean# false is assigned to has_passed (a boolean)has_passed = Falsemarks = 80if (marks > 50):# true has been assigned to has_passed (a boolean)has_passed = Trueprint (has_passed)
4. Float
Floating points are used for rational numbers that usually end with a decimal figure.
float_1 = 12.539float_2 = 6.78# various operations on floatsprint (float_1*float_2)print (float_1+float_2)print (float_1-float_2)print (float_1/float_2)
Non-Primitive data sub-types
1. Lists
Python Lists are used to store collections of heterogeneous items; they can be recognized by their square brackets which hold elements and are separated by a comma.
fruits = ["Apple", "Banana", "Kiwi", "Mango"]# various len functionsprint (len(fruits))fruits.append("Melon")fruits.remove("Apple")print (fruits)
2. Dictionaries
A dictionary is an unordered, changeable, and indexed collection of elements. In Python, dictionaries are written with curly brackets and contain keys and values. See the code below:
my_car = {"brand": "Suzuki","model": "Mehran","year": 2001}# indexing the dictprint "The brand of my car is ", my_car["brand"]
RELATED TAGS
