Getting Started with Java - Beginner's Guide

Variables are a fundamental part of any programming language, including Java. Variables are used to store pieces of data and give them a name. When we want to use these variables in some way, we can refer to them by their name.

Data Types

Define the kind of data a variable can hold and the operations that can be performed on it. Java has two main categories of data types:

Primitive Data Types:
Non-Primitive Data Types (Reference Types)

Primitive Data Types

Let's explore the primitive types of data that variables can hold.

Type	Description	Storage space
byte	Store whole number between `-128` and `127.` Useful for memory-efficient storage of small integers	8 bits (1 byte)
short	Store whole number between `-32,768` and `32,767.` Used for larger integer values than those held by byte	16 bits (2 bytes)
int	The most common integer type, storing whole numbers from `-2,147,483,648` and `2,147,483,647`	32 bits (4 bytes)
long	Stores even larger whole numbers, between -`9,223,372,036,854,775,808` to `9,223,372,036,854,775,807`	64 bits (8 bytes)
float	Represents single-precision floating-point numbers (numbers with decimals). Used for approximate real numbers where precision isn't critical.	32 bits (4 bytes)
double	Represents double-precision floating-point numbers, offering more precision than float. Used for accurate scientific calculations or measurements.	64 bits (8 bytes)
char	Stores a single unicode character. Used for representing text and symbols.	16 bits (2 bytes)
boolean	Represents logical values: true or false. It is used for conditional statements and decision-making.	1 bit (but occupies 1 byte in memory for efficiency)

Non-Primitive Data Types (Reference Types)

The reference types are the objects or instances of classes. Some of the Non-Primitive Data Types in Java includes:

String (not a primitive, but a common reference type)
Arrays
Classes
Interfaces

Now that we know the data types supported in Java, let's declare our variables.

Types of Variables:

Local Variables: Declared within a method or block, accessible only within that scope.
Instance Variables: Declared within a class, outside of any method, each object of the class has its own copy.
Static Variables: Declared with the static keyword, shared by all objects of the class.

Declaring

Declaring a variable is how you create them. Here's an example featuring all of the primitive data types:

public class HelloWorld {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        byte b = 6;
        System.out.println(b);

        short c = 1337;
        System.out.println(c);

        int d = 12345;
        System.out.println(d);

        long e = 13371337;
        System.out.println(e);

        float f = 13.37f;
        System.out.println(f);

        double g = 13.37;
        System.out.println(g);

        char h = 'a';
        System.out.println(h);

        boolean i = true;
        System.out.println(i);
    }
}

In general, to declare a variable, you must start off with their type, then an equal sign, then the value. This is the general syntax:

type name = value;

Since Java is strongly typed, it requires you to give every variable their type.

Variable Naming Rules

There are rules in place for naming Java variables, and here they are:

The variable name can only contain alphanumeric characters, underscores, and dollar signs
The variable name must start with a letter, dollar sign, or underscore
The variable name cannot contain spaces

With that in mind, here are some examples of valid Java variable names:

apples
_apples
_apples_
$apples

And here are some examples of invalid Java variables names:

1apples
app les
&apples
%apples

Introduction to Java Variables and Types