> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://kdoore.gitbook.io/cs1334/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://kdoore.gitbook.io/cs1334/javascript_syntax/variables.md).

# Variables

**Variables** Variables provide a way for us to store a value that we can modify and use throughout a program.

A variables can be considered a named memory container where the programmer can store values that will be changing in their programs.

To create a variable in javascript, we use the keyword **var**, followed by the name that we'll use as a label to access that value, this is referred to as *declaring a variable.*

```
  `var mySpecialValue;  //declare a variable ` 
```

This *varible-name* acts as a label to identify an area in the computer's memory where the value will be stored, so the programmer can access and modify the value throughout the program.

**Declare and initialize a variable:**

```java
    var mySpecialValue;  //declare a variable
    mySpecialValue=5;  //assign a value of 5
    mySpecialValue = 15 * 2; //re-assign a new value to the variable
```

The first line of code above, creates a variable by declaring the keyword: var, followed by the identifier name `mySpecialValue`.

In the next statement, we assigns the value 5 to the variable. The third line of code changes the value stored in the memory location: `mySpecialValue` to the result of the evaluation of the expression: 15 \* 2.

## Variable Types

Javascript in a **loosely-typed** programming language. The type of a variable is determined dynamically, based on the value currently assigned to the variable. A variable can be assigned different types of values throughout a program. This is in contrast to most other programming languages like Java or C++, which are **strongly-typed**. In **strongly-typed** languages, when we want to declare a variable, we must first specify the **data-type** that we want to use.

**Dynamically determined variable type:**

```java
var mySpecialValue = 5;   //assigned a numeric type
mySpecialValue="hello";   //a string has now been assigned to the same variable
```