Variables are similar to constants, but their
values can be changed as the program runs. Variables must first be
declared in Pascal before they can be used:
var IdentifierList1:DataType1; IdentifierList2:DataType2; IdentifierList3:DataType3; ...
IdentifierList is a series of identifiers, separated
by commas (,). All identifiers in the list are declared as
being of the same data type.
The basic data types in Pascal include:
integer
real
char
Boolean
Standard Pascal does not make provision for the string data type, but most modern compilers do. Experienced Pascal programmers also use pointers for dynamic memory allocation, objects for object-oriented programming, and many others, but this gets you started.
More information on Pascal data types:
The integer data type can contain integers
from -32768 to 32767. This is the signed range that can be stored in a 16-bit word, and is a legacy of the era when 16-bit CPUs were common. For backward compatibility purposes, a 32-bit signed integer is a longint and can hold a much greater range of values.
The real data type has a range from
3.4x10-38 to 3.4x1038, in addition to the same
range on the negative side. Real values are stored inside the
computer similarly to scientific notation, with a mantissa and
exponent, with some complications. In Pascal, you can express real
values in your code in either fixed-point notation or in scientific
notation, with the character E separating the mantissa from
the exponent. Thus,       452.13 is the same
as 4.5213e2
The char data type holds characters. Be
sure to enclose them in single quotes, like so: 'a' 'B' '+' Standard Pascal uses 8-bit characters, not 16-bits, so Unicode, which is used to represent all the world's language sets in one UNIfied CODE system, is not supported.
The Boolean data type can have only two values: TRUE and FALSE