1.4.1: Data Types

Question 1

Why is it essential to store data as the right data type?

Answer 1

• So the right operations can be performed on it

Question 2

What is an Integer?

Answer 2

• A whole number

Question 3

What are Integers used for?

Answer 3

• Counting things

Question 4

What are Real numbers useful for?

Answer 4

• Measuring things

Question 5

What is a Real number?

Answer 5

• A positive or negative number which can, but does not necessarily, have a fractional part

Question 6

What is a Character?

Answer 6

• A single symbol used by a computer
• Letters A to Z, the numbers 0 to 9, and other symbols such as punctuation and characters from other languages

Question 7

What is a String?

Answer 7

• A collection of characters
• Can be used to store either a single character or many characters in succession

Question 8

What are Strings useful for?

Answer 8

• Storing text and phone numbers, which start with 0, which numeric data types such as integers would cut off

Question 9

What is Boolean?

Answer 9

• True or False

Question 10

What is Boolean useful for?

Answer 10

• Recording data that can only take two values, like the state of a power button or whether a line of code has been executed

Question 11

What is a Character Set?

Answer 11

• A published collection of codes and corresponding characters which can be used by computers for representing text

Question 12

What is ASCII?

Answer 12

• American Standard Code for Information Interchange
• Normal ASCII uses 7 bits to represent 128 characters
• Extended ASCII uses 8 bits to represent 256 characters (The first 128 codes code are the same as in normal ASCII)

Question 13

How many bits does Unicode utilise?

Answer 13

• A varying number of bits ranging from 16 to 32, allowing for over 1 million different characters, many of which have yet to be allocated
• Unicode has enough capacity to represent a wealth of different languages, symbols, and emojis