Using Simple Java Data Types

Each data type has a specific purpose.

boolean -- booleans can only be true or false
char -- char can hold any letter or number character
byte -- byte holds small integers
short -- short holds integers upto 32767
int -- int holds integers upto 2^31
long -- long hold integer upto 2^63
float -- float holds real numbers
double -- doulbe holds very large real numbers

To create a new variable use the following syntax:
type VarName;
For example:
int price;
I have created an variable of type int and named my variable price.
Each statement in Java must end in a ;. This tells the compiler that the statement is finished.

If I wanted to give price a value I would assign it using the = sign. For example:
price = 5;

Now lets create two new variables sale and total.
int total;
int sale = 2;
Notice that I can create a variable and assign it a value all in one statement.

Now we can use price and sale to give total a value.
total = price - sale;
Self test: What would the value of total be now?

Download: DataTypes.java

©2003 C. Whittington