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In mathematics, a variable (from Latin variabilis, "changeable") is a symbol, typically a letter, that refers to an unspecified mathematical object. [1] [2] [3] One says colloquially that the variable represents or denotes the object, and that any valid candidate for the object is the value of the variable.
The term Variable is relevant to several contexts, and is especially important to mathematics and computer science. Scientists and engineers will often use mathematical variables in formulae and equations, such as E = m c 2; they will also have their own special uses of the term. The term Variable can also occur in other contexts, such as ...
Nouns and adjectives [ edit ] The citation form for nouns (the form normally shown in Latin dictionaries) is the Latin nominative singular, but that typically does not exhibit the root form from which English nouns are generally derived.
The English language has a number of words that denote specific or approximate quantities that are themselves not numbers. [1] Along with numerals, and special-purpose words like some, any, much, more, every, and all, they are quantifiers.
As an adjective, it refers to non-variance (i.e. unchanging with respect to some other value); as a noun, it has two different meanings: A fixed and well-defined number or other non-changing mathematical object , or the symbol denoting it.
The choice of a variable name should be mnemonic — that is, designed to indicate to the casual observer the intent of its use. One-character variable names should be avoided except for temporary "throwaway" variables. Common names for temporary variables are i, j, k, m, and n for integers; c, d, and e for characters. int i;
The set of variables of a term t is denoted by vars(t). A term that doesn't contain any variables is called a ground term; a term that doesn't contain multiple occurrences of a variable is called a linear term. For example, 2+2 is a ground term and hence also a linear term, x⋅(n+1) is a linear term, n⋅(n+1) is a non-linear term.
the variable named x is a parameter because it is given a value when the function is called. The integer 5 is the argument which gives x its value. In most languages, function parameters have local scope. This specific variable named x can only be referred to within the addtwo function (though of course other functions can also have variables ...