1. Python
  2. Fundamentals
  3. Data Containers

Python Data Containers

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Variables

Store values in a program:

name = "Alice"
age = 30
a, b, c = 1, 2, 3

The variable data types doesn’t need to explicitly be defined when declaring it:

x = 42          # x is an integer
x = "Hello"     # x is now a string
x = 3.14        # x is now a float
  • dynamically-typed - Python is a dynamically-typed language - the interpreter infers the data type automatically based on the value assigned to the variable
  • No variable scope keywords
  • Automatic memory management - memory allocation and deallocation for variables is handled automatically.
  • Multiple assignment - assign values to multiple variables simultaneously in a single line.
  • Immutable basic types - Some basic data types like strings, integers, and tuples are immutable. This means that once a value is assigned to a variable of these types, you cannot change the value directly. However, you can reassign the variable to a new value.

Naming conventions

  • must start with a letter (a-z, A-Z) or an underscore (_), followed by letters, numbers (0-9), or underscores
  • are case-sensitive
  • recommended to use lowercase with words separated by underscores (snake_case) for readability