Data types in Python

1. Definition with examples

Data type is a classification that  specifies which type of value a variable can hold. It defines the type of operations that can be performed on that variable and how those values are stored in memory. Data types are essential in programming because they help ensure the correctness and consistency of data manipulation.

2. Types of Data types

There are various types of data types supported by Python. They are:

1. Numeric data types
2. Dictionary data types
3. Boolean data types
4. Set data types
5. Sequence data type

The following sub chapters provides you the detailed information about all these data types. let's go through them.

2.1. Numeric Data types (Integer, float, complex)

1.       Numeric Data Types:

Numeric data types are used to specify the number type that is stored in a variable.

Numeric data types are again categorized into three categories.

a.       Integer

b.       Float

c.       Complex

a.       Integers: this data type specifies the value that is stored in a variable is any integer number of any length.

Example: a=10, b=-20 etc.

a = 30  

print("The type of a", type(a))  

 Output:

The type of a <class ‘int’>

b.    Float: This data type specifies the value that is stored in a variable is a decimal number.

Example: 22.9, 2.7 etc

x=43.211

Print (“The type of x”, type(x))

Output:

The type of a <class ‘float’>

c.       Complex Number: This data type is used to represent numbers in the format a+bi, where a & b are real numbers and ‘I or j’ is an imaginary unit. In python complex number are created using the syntax a+bj. Operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division etc can also performed on complex numbers.

Example

a=3+6j

print(“The type of a”, type(a))

Output:

The type of a <class ‘complex’>

2.2. Dictionary Data type

Dictionary is a built-in data type used to store collections of data in a key-value pair format. Every key is associated with a value and key is unique.

Dictionaries can be created by curly braces ‘{ } ‘ and key-value pairs are separated by colon ‘:’ . Key- value pair can be any other data types.

Example: employee = {‘name’:’Battu’, ‘salary’:40000, ‘dept’:’CSE’, ‘id’:22243 }

Print(“The type of empleyee”, type(employee))

Output:

The type of employee <class ‘dictionary’>

2.3. Boolean Data type

 It is also a built-in data type that can hold a value either True or False. Boolean values are used to make logical decisions and control flow of a program. Boolean values are also used to perform conditional operations.

Example:

a=True

print("The type of a", type(a))

 Output:

The type of a <class ‘bool’>

2.4. Set data type

It is a built-in data type. Python set data type is like set in mathematics. Set is an unordered collection unique elements. It is used to store and manipulate collection of data without duplications.

We can create set using curly braces ‘{ }’ or ‘set(  )’ constructor. Elements of set are separated by comma ‘,’.

Example:

Animals = {‘dog’,’cat’,’cow’,’tiger’,’elephant’}

Print(“The type of Animals”, type(Animals))

Output:

The type of Animals<class ‘set’>

2.5. Sequence data type

A sequence is an ordered collection of values. The sequence is a powerful, fundamental abstraction in computer science. Sequences are not instances of a particular built-in type or abstract data representation, but instead a collection of behaviors that are shared among several different types of data. That is, there are many kinds of sequences, but they all share common behavior. In particular,

Length. A sequence has a finite length. An empty sequence has length 0.

Element selection. A sequence has an element corresponding to any non-negative integer index less than its length, starting at 0 for the first element.

Python includes three main data types that are sequences. They are 

1. String
2. List
3. Tuple

"2.3 Sequences" by John DeNero is licensed under CC BY 3.0

3. Supplementary Material

Here is an URL of  video that deals with data types. This may help you. please go through it.

"What are data types in Python"  by DevForDev is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0