Python Variables

What Are Variables in Python?

Similar to variables in Javascript and other programming languages variables in Python are the names of containers that store values.

Creating a Variable

Variables in Python do not have a command for declaration, instead a variable is declared once you assign a value to it:

x = 15
y = "Tom"
car = 'Honda'

print(x) // 15 # prints 15
print(y) // Tom # prints Tom
print(car) // Honda # prints Honda

As you can see above if you want to assign a string to a variable you can use either single or double quotes.

Changing Variable Values

To change a variable in Python you assign a new value to the same name:

x = 15
print(x) # prints 15

x = "basketball"
print(x) # prints basketball

Variables are Case Sensitive

Just a quick note variable names in Python are case sensitive:

r = 2
R = "Bob"
#R will not overwrite a

Variable Names Rules in Python

Variable names in Python have the following rules:

• A variable name must start with a letter or underscore character
• A variable name cannot start with a number
• A variable name can only contain alpha-numeric characters and underscores (A-z, 0-9, and _ )
• A variable name must be case sensitive (See example above)