Programming Data Types

In programming, data types are the attributes that specify the type of data that an object can hold.  We need to declare a data type for variables and arrays.

Why bother?

It’s important to specify the right data type for your data structures because the program needs to know what type of values an object can store and which operations can be successfully performed using it.  Failure to use the correct data type may result in you losing the ability to perform sorts or calculations using the data.

Common Data Types

Data types can change from one programming language to another, but here is a list usually found in most:

Data Type	Description
Integer	Whole numbers
Date	Date
Boolean	True/False
String	Alphanumeric, Text
Real	Numbers with decimal places
Char	Single character