Labeled Boxes: How Programs Remember With Variables

Hi, I'm Byte! Imagine a wall of boxes, and each box has a name label like score or playerName. A variable is exactly that: a named box where a program keeps a value so it can use it again later. First you create the box and put something in it. We call that assigning a value. In many languages, writing score = 0 means "make a box named score and store the number 0." The name lets you find the value again without remembering where it lives. Later you can update the box. Writing score = score + 10 tells the computer: take what is in score now, add 10, and put the new total back. The old value is replaced, not kept. A box holds only one value at a time. Values come in types. A number like 42 is used for counting and arithmetic. Text — called a string — is letters or words wrapped in quotes, like "Maya". A boolean is just true or false, perfect for yes/no questions. The type tells the program what it can do: you can add two numbers together, but you cannot do arithmetic on text the way you add numbers. If you ever feel stuck, slow down and ask three things: What is the box named? What value is inside right now? And what type is that value? Answer those and the program makes sense.