Data Types & Casting (AQA GCSE Computer Science): Revision Note
Data Types & Casting
What is a data type?
A data type is a classification of data into groups according to the kind of data they represent
Computers use different data types to represent different types of data in a program
The basic data types include:
Data type | Used for | Example |
|---|---|---|
Integer | Whole numbers | 10, -5, 0 |
Real | Numbers with a fractional part | 3.14, -2.5, 0.0 |
Character | Single character | 'a', 'B', '6', '£' |
String | Sequence of characters | "Hello world", "ABC", "@#!%" |
Boolean | True or false values | True, False |
It is important to choose the correct data type for a given situation to ensure accuracy and efficiency in the program
Data types can be changed within a program, this is called casting or String handling operations
You can read more about string handling operations and converting data types here
Worked Example
Customers booking a holiday can choose between half board or all inclusive and a hotel star rating between 1 and 5
A typical booking record is shown in the table:
firstName | Jacob |
lastName | Franks |
boardType | All inclusive |
starRating | 5 |
bookingComplete | True |
State the most appropriate data type for the following fields [2]:
Give the name of one field that could be stored as a Boolean data type [1]
Answer
bookingComplete
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