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KS3
Programming basics
Naming variables
Programming is writing computer code to create a
program, in order to solve a problem. To program a
computer, you need to know how programs are
constructed.
Part of Computer Science Programming
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Arithmetic
Variables
Naming variables
Working with variables
Input and output
Naming variables
Each variable is named so it is clear which variable is being used at any
time. It is important to use meaningful names for variables:
For example, pocketMoney = 20 means that the variable ‘pocketMoney’ is
being used to store how much pocket money you have. Right now you have
£20.
The name given to each variable is up to the programmer, but ideally a
variable name should have meaning, ie it should reflect the value that it is
holding.
Variable naming rules
There are some rules about variable names:
Consistency: ‘name’ is not the same as ‘Name’ or ‘NAME’.
Spacing: variable names should not have a space in them. Use underscores or
camelCase instead, eg total_money; totalMoney).
Digits: variable names should not start with a digit
Consider these example variable names, all of which could be variable names
to store the length of a side of a square:
Variable name Comment
l A poor choice – it has no meaning
length Okay but a bit vague
side_length Good
sideLength Good
side length Wrong – don’t use spaces
Example
This Python (3.x) program uses two meaningful names when calculating
the perimeter of a square:
>>> side_length = 5
>>> perimeter = side_length * 4
>>> print(perimeter)
20
Because meaningful names have been used in this code, it is easy to know
what each variable is used for.
Data types
Variables come in all shapes and sizes. Some are used to store numbers, some
are used to store text and some are used for much more complicated types of
data .
The data types to know are:
String (or str or text). Used for a combination of any characters that appear
on a keyboard, such as letters, numbers and symbols.
Character (or char). Used for single letters.
Integer (or int). Used for whole numbers.
Float (or Real). Used for numbers that contain decimal points, or for
fractions.
Boolean (or bool). Used where data is restricted to True/False or yes/no
options.
In many programming languages variables must be declared before they
can be used, for example:
Visual Basic - dim score as int
Java – int score;
In some languages, such as Python, you can simply start using the variable
without declaring it.
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Variables Working with variables
More guides on this topic
Introduction to programming Selection in programming
Iteration in programming Boolean logic Arrays and lists
Procedures and functions Writing error-free code
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