📦 Variables Explained Like You're 5

Labeled boxes that store things

Day 21 of 149

👉 Full deep-dive with code examples

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The Labeled Box Analogy

Imagine labeled storage boxes:

• Box labeled "Age" contains: 25
• Box labeled "Name" contains: "Alice"
• Box labeled "IsLoggedIn" contains: true

You can:

• Look inside (read the value)
• Put something else in (update the value)
• Use what's inside somewhere else

Variables are labeled boxes for storing data in your program!

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Why Variables?

Without variables, you'd have to remember everything:

• "The user typed 42, now calculate..."
• "Wait, what number was it again?"

Variables let you:

• Store values for later
• Give meaningful names
• Easily change values

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How They Work

Creating a variable:

name = "Alice"     (box "name" now holds "Alice")
age = 25           (box "age" now holds 25)
isStudent = true   (box "isStudent" holds true)

Using them:

greeting = "Hello, " + name    (uses what's in "name")
birthYear = currentYear - age  (uses what's in "age")

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Types of Data

Variables can hold:

• Numbers → an integer or decimal
• Text → "Hello World"
• True/False → true, false
• Lists → ["a", "b", "c"]
• And more!

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Changing Variables

Variables can change (that's why they're called "variable"!):

score = 0       (start at 0)
score = 10      (now it's 10)
score = score + 5   (now it's 15)

The box "score" contained different values over time.

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In One Sentence

Variables are named containers that store data so your program can remember, update, and use values throughout its execution.

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