APPLICATION LABORATORY II
Sherina Sally
Python Variables Department of ICT
Faculty of Technology,
University of Colombo
OUTLINE
• Introduction to variables
• Variable assignment
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• Dynamic typing
• Naming conventions
• Variable scope
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VARIABLES
• Python variables are named entities to store data
x = 10
• Created at the moment when a value is assigned
x = ‘ Joe’ x = “ Joe”
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• No explicit variable declaration
• Dynamically typed
• The type of the value assigned can be changed
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NAMING CONVENTIONS
• Start with a letter or the underscore( _ ) character
• Cannot start with a number
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• Variable names can only contain letters, numbers and underscores (A-z, 0-9, and _ )
• Reserved keywords cannot be used
• Use meaningful variable names
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MULTIPLE VARIABLE ASSIGNMENT
• Value assignment for multiple variables,
p, q, r = 2, “red”, 45.5
• Multiple values assigned to multiple variables
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• Single value assigned to multiple variables
p=q=r=5
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SCOPES OF VARIABLES …(1)
• Local scope
- A variable created inside a function body
- Can be accessed only within the function
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• Global Scope
- Variables created outside all the functions and classes
- Can be accessed from anywhere within the program
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SCOPES OF VARIABLES …(2)
• Enclosing scope
- Applies in nested functions
- The innermost function can access variables of the outer function
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- The outer function cannot access the variables of the innermost function
• Built-in Scope
- The accessibility of built-in keywords/ functions without importing any module
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SCOPES OF VARIABLES …(3)
x = “global x”
def outer():
x = “outer x”
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def inner():
x = “inner x”
print(x)
inner()
x = max(4,5,3,…..)
print(x)
outer()
print(x)
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global
• Enforce a variable to behave in the global scope
• Local variables can be accessed out of the function
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x = “global x”
def inner():
global x
x = “inner x”
inner()
print(x)
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nonlocal
• In nested functions, variables in the outer function cannot be changed in the inner function
• nonlocal statement will prevent this behavior
• Enables to change the values of the variables in the outer function from the inner function
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def outer():
x=5
def inner():
nonlocal x
x=x+3
print(x)
inner()
outer()
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