Variable Exercises
Beginner Exercises
Practice basic variable operations:
- Create variables for your **name** (string), **age** (integer), **height** (float in meters), and **student status** (boolean). Print them with descriptive labels.
- Perform variable swapping: given `a = 10` and `b = 20`, swap their values and print before and after.
Example
# Exercise 1: Create variables
name = "Alice"
age = 25
height = 1.68
is_student = True
print("Name:", name)
print("Age:", age)
print("Height (m):", height)
print("Student:", is_student)
# Exercise 2: Variable swapping
a, b = 10, 20
print(f"Before: a={a}, b={b}")
a, b = b, a
print(f"After: a={a}, b={b}")Output
Name: Alice Age: 25 Height (m): 1.68 Student: True Before: a=10, b=20 After: a=20, b=10
ℹ️ Note: Use clear, descriptive variable names for readability.
Intermediate Challenges
More complex variable manipulation tasks:
- Convert between types: given `num_str = "123"`, convert to integer, float, and back to string. Print each with its type.
- Unpack tuple `("Python", 3.9, "Guido van Rossum")` into variables and print a descriptive sentence.
⚠️ Warning: Always ensure type compatibility before performing operations.
Example
# Exercise 3: Type conversion
num_str = "123"
num_int = int(num_str)
num_float = float(num_str)
num_back_to_str = str(num_int)
print(num_str, type(num_str))
print(num_int, type(num_int))
print(num_float, type(num_float))
print(num_back_to_str, type(num_back_to_str))
# Exercise 4: Tuple unpacking
data = ("Python", 3.9, "Guido van Rossum")
language, version, creator = data
print(f"{language} {version} was created by {creator}")Output
123 <class 'str'> 123 <class 'int'> 123.0 <class 'float'> 123 <class 'str'> Python 3.9 was created by Guido van Rossum
Advanced Problems
Real-world variable management challenges:
- Implement a **global counter** with functions `increment_counter()` and `reset_counter()`. Ensure they modify the global variable correctly.
- Create a **configuration manager** using a dictionary. Write a function that safely updates settings, handling invalid keys gracefully.
Example
# Exercise 5: Global counter
counter = 0
def increment_counter():
global counter
counter += 1
def reset_counter():
global counter
counter = 0
increment_counter()
print(counter) # 1
reset_counter()
print(counter) # 0
# Exercise 6: Configuration manager
config = {"theme": "light", "volume": 50}
def update_config(key, value):
if key in config:
config[key] = value
else:
print(f"Invalid key: {key}")
update_config("volume", 75)
print(config)
update_config("language", "EN")Output
1
0
{'theme': 'light', 'volume': 75}
Invalid key: languageℹ️ Note: For safe dictionary lookups, use `.get()` with a default value.
Solutions
Example solutions (try solving before checking):
Example
# Exercise 2 Solution
a, b = 10, 20
print(f"Before: a={a}, b={b}")
a, b = b, a
print(f"After: a={a}, b={b}")
# Exercise 4 Solution
data = ("Python", 3.9, "Guido van Rossum")
language, version, creator = data
print(f"{language} {version} was created by {creator}")Output
Before: a=10, b=20 After: a=20, b=10 Python 3.9 was created by Guido van Rossum