4.0.0- Variables

Variables

One of the most important concepts in any programming language is the ability to store information. Suppose a user is required to input their name: where do you store this information, so that it can be used later? How do you store other types of data, such as numerical data and dates? In addition, what if several users have all provided similar pieces of data – how does the computer know how to match up the information provided to the user who provided it? This can all be done using variables.

Your programming language gives you the power to create variables, to assign values to them, to test the contents, and to reuse them in your program. They will enable you to perform mathematical functions, calculate new dates, disassemble text, count the length of sentences, and so on. Variables are fundamental to programming – they'll form the foundations of nearly every business solution you'll come to program.

In this chapter we'll look at:

• What a variable is
• What a variant is
• How to declare a variable
• Different subtypes in VBScript
• How to perform calculations with variables
• What 'scope' is
• What an array is, and how it can be used to store information about several related data items

We'll start by establishing what a variable is.