Python - Variables


Table of Contents

Assignment statements

The general form of an assignment statement:

variable = expression

Example assignment statements:

>>> base = 20
>>> height = 12
>>> area = base * height / 2
>>> area
120.0

The rules for executing an assignment statement:

  • Evaluate the expression. This produces a memory address.
  • Store the memory address in the variable.

Variable names

The rules for legal Python names:

  • Names must start with a letter or _
  • Names must contain only letters, digits, and _
  • For Python, in most situations, the convention is to use snakecase (AKA potholecase).