Dictionary of Computers - variable

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Quantity that can take different values. Variables can be used to represent different items of data in the course of a program.

A computer programmer will choose a symbol to represent each variable used in a program. The computer will then automatically assign a memory location to store the current value of each variable, and use the chosen symbol to identify this location.

For example, the letter P might be chosen by a programmer to represent the price of an article. The computer would automatically reserve a memory location with the symbolic address P to store the price being currently processed.

Different programming languages place different restrictions on the choice of symbols used to represent variables. Some languages only allow a single letter followed, where required, by a single number. Other languages allow a much freer choice, allowing, for example, the use of the full word ‘price’ to represent the price of an article.

A global variable is one that can be accessed by any program instruction; a local variable is one that can only be accessed by the instructions within a particular subroutine.

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