Comparison of Features Used in Programs
In Visual Basic variables are declared using Dim and then the name of
the variable, which could be anything of your choice. Dim is short for
DIMENSION. A Dim statement tells the computer to set up a place in the
memory with the right dimensions to store a piece of data that has a
certain data type. For example:
Dim k As Integer
Dim k As Integer sets up a place (location in memory) with the name k
and enough space to hold a whole number. “k” is a variable because the
values that this location have can vary. As well as setting up the
right size of space for a variable, a Dim statement sets up all the
things that can be done with the variable according to its data type.
In this case Dim statement sets up all the things that can be done
with a whole numbers.
In Pascal the variables are declared using VAR instead of using Dim.
The following is an example in Pascal of how a variable is declared:
VAR RANKS:ARRAY [0..51] OF INTEGER;
SUITS:ARRAY [0..51] OF CHAR;
I:INTEGER;
In JavaScript the Variable are also declared in a similar way to
Pascal for example:
Var day=mydate.getDay();
This is the declaring of the variables, you can also assign values to
the variables.
Data Types: is a formal description of the kind of data being stored
or manipulated within a program or system, for example alphabetic
data, numeric data or logical data some of the more important one are
listed below.
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Number (integer): is any whole number, whether positive or negative.
In visual basic you can declare the number as an integer, for example:
Dim bookingNo As Integer
and this is the same in Pascal, for example
VAR I, J: INTEGER;
Number (real): is any number represented with a fractional part. In
most high-level languages, real indicates that floating-point
representation is to be used when the number is stored or manipulated.