programming-for-dummies

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Storing Data with the Assignment Operator
Programming languages typically provide two types of data manipulation
commands:
✦ Operators are usually symbols that represent simple calculations, such
as addition (+) or multiplication (*).
✦ Functions are commands that perform more sophisticated calculations,
such as calculating the square root of a number.
Unlike operators, which are usually symbols, functions are usually short
commands, such as SQRT (square root).
By combining both operators and functions, you can create your own commands
for manipulating data in different ways.
Storing Data with the Assignment Operator
The simplest operator that almost every programming language has is the
assignment operator, which is nothing more than the equal sign (=) symbol,
such as
VariableName = Value
The assignment operator simply stores or assigns a value to a variable. That
value can be a fixed number, a specific string, or a mathematical equation
that calculates a single value. Some examples of the assignment operator are
shown in Table 3-1.
Table 3-1
Example
Age = 35
Name = “Cat”
A = B + 64.26
Answer = “Why”
Examples of Using the Assignment (=) Operator
What It Does
Stores the number 35 into the Age variable
Stores the string “Cat” into a Name variable
Adds the value stored in the B variable to the number 64.26 and
stores the sum in the A variable
Stores the string “Why” in the Answer variable
Using Math to Manipulate Numbers
Because manipulating numbers (or number crunching) is such a common
task for computers, every programming language provides commands for
addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Table 3-2 lists common
mathematical operations and the symbols to use.