Variables

Variables are a way to temporarily store data. Think of it as the same as variables in your math class where you can define x = 5

Defining and Using Variables

Before you can use a variable in a PBASIC program you must declare it. “Declare” means letting the BASIC Stamp know that you plan to use a variable. The format for declaring variables is as follows

variable_name    VAR     VarType

VarType refers to the following 4 values: Bit, Nib, Byte, and Word. Try to think of a variable type as classifying how much space the variable has to store values.

VarType Value Size
Bit Value can be 0 or 1
Nib Value can be 0 to 15
Byte Value can be 0 to 255
Word Value can be 0 to 65535

Here’s an analogy of how the size difference works

We can arrange these 4 objects in order by how much they can store: Envelope, Shoebox, Fridge, Room

Envelope (Bit) < Shoebox (Nib) < Fridge (Byte) < Room (Word)

Some examples of declaring variables

Choose variable names that make sense to you and are not absurd like: ThisVariable_DoessomethingreallyCOOL

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x               VAR     Bit
dog             VAR     WORD
is_zero         VAR     Nib
someVariable    VAR     Byte

Some Notes on Variable Types

Under certain situations you might use different variable types. However, for the programming problems that you will encounter while undergoing the competition it might be best to just stick to Byte and Word