2.1: Assignment statements

An assignment statement creates a new variable and gives it a value:

>>> message = 'And now for something completely different'
>>> n = 17
>>> pi = 3.1415926535897932

This example makes three assignments. The first assigns a string to a new variable named message; the second gives the integer 17 to n; the third assigns the (approximate) value of \(\pi\) to pi.

A common way to represent variables on paper is to write the name with an arrow pointing to its value. This kind of figure is called a state diagram because it shows what state each of the variables is in (think of it as the variable’s state of mind). Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\) shows the result of the previous example.

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