APPLICATION LABORATORY II

Sherina Sally

Python Variables Department of ICT

Faculty of Technology,
University of Colombo

OUTLINE

• Introduction to variables

• Variable assignment
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• Dynamic typing

• Naming conventions

• Variable scope

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VARIABLES
• Python variables are named entities to store data
x = 10
• Created at the moment when a value is assigned
x = ‘ Joe’ x = “ Joe”

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• No explicit variable declaration

• Dynamically typed

• The type of the value assigned can be changed

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NAMING CONVENTIONS
• Start with a letter or the underscore( _ ) character

• Cannot start with a number

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• Variable names can only contain letters, numbers and underscores (A-z, 0-9, and _ )

• Reserved keywords cannot be used

• Use meaningful variable names

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MULTIPLE VARIABLE ASSIGNMENT

• Value assignment for multiple variables,

p, q, r = 2, “red”, 45.5
• Multiple values assigned to multiple variables

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• Single value assigned to multiple variables
p=q=r=5

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SCOPES OF VARIABLES …(1)

• Local scope
- A variable created inside a function body

- Can be accessed only within the function

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• Global Scope

- Variables created outside all the functions and classes

- Can be accessed from anywhere within the program

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SCOPES OF VARIABLES …(2)
• Enclosing scope
- Applies in nested functions

- The innermost function can access variables of the outer function

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- The outer function cannot access the variables of the innermost function

• Built-in Scope

- The accessibility of built-in keywords/ functions without importing any module

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SCOPES OF VARIABLES …(3)

x = “global x”

def outer():
x = “outer x”
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def inner():
x = “inner x”
print(x)
inner()
x = max(4,5,3,…..)
print(x)
outer()
print(x)

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global
• Enforce a variable to behave in the global scope

• Local variables can be accessed out of the function

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x = “global x”

def inner():
global x
x = “inner x”
inner()
print(x)

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nonlocal
• In nested functions, variables in the outer function cannot be changed in the inner function

• nonlocal statement will prevent this behavior

• Enables to change the values of the variables in the outer function from the inner function
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def outer():
x=5
def inner():
nonlocal x
x=x+3
print(x)
inner()

outer()
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