!
a = 10
b = 20
c = 15
I = 1
V = 2
m = 20
x = a + b
P = I * V
F = ma
E = m * c * c
print(x)
print(P)
print(F)
print(E)Develop our understanding of variables
Understand how to use comments within our programs
Know the different data types
print("Please insert a number")
y = int(input())
z = 2
x = y * z
print(x)
Write a very short three-line program that will ask the user "Please insert your name" then take in a user’s name and stores it in a variable and then display "Hello " and the user’s name.
Step 1: Print to the screen "Please insert your name"
Step 2: Get the user’s input
Step 3: Display the "Hello " and the user’s input
We should get used to using comments so that when we look back at our programs, we can understand what each piece of code does without needing to look it up.
#Display to the user Please insert a number
print("Please insert a number")
#Get the number from the user and put it in y
y = int(input())
z = 2
#Do the calculation
x = y * z
#Print the result
print(x)A data type is the type of the data you are storing in a variable.
For instance, when we are storing a number using the int(input()) function we are getting an integer.
Python has 5 data types we need to know about.
| Name | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Integer | Whole numbers | 1, 200, -128, 5 |
| Float (real number) | Numbers with decimal places, numbers with exponents (powers) | 6.23, 5.00, - |
| Char | A single character from the keyboard (note the quotes) | "Y", "N", "O", "1", "@" |
| String | Multiple characters (note the quotes) | "Hello World", "Mr Smith", "Computing" |
| Boolean | Either True or False | True, False |
Understanding how a computer stores data is important for us because we sometimes need to convert the data to another type. For example, if we use the input() function we have been using in the past examples the computer expects text even if we want a number.
To convert the text into a number so that we can use it in calculations we use the int() function. This tells the computer that it should now consider that string as an integer.
We have multiple ways of converting data that we are going to use for the next part of this lesson:
| Function name | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
int() |
Convert data to an integer | int(input()) |
float() |
Converts data to a floating point number (real number or decimal) | float(input()) |
str() |
Converts data to a string of text | str(50) |
Converting the data is possible using the functions str, int and float.
x = "10"
print(x)
y = int(10)
print(y)For each of the following pieces of data, write down the data type you would expect the value variable to be:
String
value = "Hello world"
Character
value = "0"
Boolean
value = True
Float
value = 0.5
String
value = "101Paris"
Character
value = "c"
Understanding how a computer stores data is important for us because we sometimes need to convert the data to another type. For example, if we use the input() function we have been using in the past examples the computer expects text even if we want a number.
To convert the text into a number so that we can use it in calculations we use the int() function. This tells the computer that it should now consider that string as an integer.
Computers store data in the memory, but without the program knowing what data type is being used it's just a bunch of 1s and 0s.
10101100 10111100 01110111
type() function.name = "Jack"
print(type(name))
age = 12
print(type(age))
Your task is to create a program that displays the type of three different variables.
To do this, you will need to create three variables and use three type functions to get their types. What do you notice about their types when they are displayed?
var1 = 11.3
print(type(var1))Work through the worksheet.
Once you have done that you can go back to your computer and create a program to test these types using the type() function.
Programming Challenges
Reviewing our progress
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