Variables

A variable is a location in computer memory used to store data, usually for use in a program.

Syntax

type name = value;

When declaring a variable in C, the type of variable goes first, followed by the name, and then the value.

But if a variable does not yet need a value assigned to it, this can be omitted and assigned later.

type name;
name = value;

Variables in C are static and can only have one type (e.g., an int variable can only hold an integer value).

Example

To display a variable in C, the printf() function from the stdio.h header file can be used along with the % character to format values, followed by the variable name:

#include <stdio.h>

int main(void) {
  int number = 5;
  char letter = 'a';

  printf("%d\n", number);
  printf("%c\n", letter);

  return 0;
}

The output would be:

5
a