programming-for-dummies

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Converting Data Types
to a Single data type can you store the value into the AverageAge variable,
which can hold only a Single data type.
When you convert data types, you may lose some precision in your numbers.
For example, converting an Integer data type (such as 67) to a
Single data type means converting the number 67 to 67.0. But what if you
convert a Single data type (such as 3.14) to an Integer data type? Then
the computer rounds the value to the nearest whole number, so the number
3.14 gets converted into 3. What happened to the 0.14? The computer throws
it away. So when converting between data types, make sure you can afford to
lose any precision in your numbers or else your program may wind up using
inexact values, which could wreck the accuracy of your calculations.
No matter what type of data you have, every programming language allows
multiple ways to manipulate that data. The way you combine operators and
functions determines what your program actually does.