You can already run short Python programs and change what appears on the screen.

Today you will build a higher or lower game in Python on the micro:bit. You will use variables to store values, take input from the buttons, and show output on the display. You will predict, build, run and fix as you go.

In this lesson, you will learn about variables in Python, how to declare and assign them, their types, and good naming conventions. You will also create a higher or lower game using the Microbits Python editor.

Variables are used to store values in a program. They have a name and can store different types of data such as numbers, text, and more. In Python, you don't need to specify the type of data a variable will store, as it automatically detects the type based on the value you assign to it.

Let's take a look at some examples of declaring and assigning variables of different types:

age = 42
message = "Hello, World!"
isOpen = True
productPrice = 3.14

In this example, we have created four variables:

• 'age' stores an integer
• 'message' stores some text
• 'isOpen' stores a true/false value
• 'productPrice' stores a decimal number

To declare and assign a variable in Python, you simply write the variable name followed by an equal sign and the value you want to store. For example:

my_variable = 10

This creates a variable named 'my_variable' and assigns it the value 10.

Python has several variable types, including:

• int: integer values (e.g., 5)
• float: decimal values (e.g., 5.5)
• str: string values (e.g., 'Hello')
• bool: boolean values (e.g., True or False)

Python automatically detects the variable type based on the value you assign to it. For example:

number_variable = 5
float_variable = 5.5
string_variable = 'Hello'
boolean_variable = True