Making Variables Work for You

Returning to our example:

main()
{
   int i, j;
   i = 5;
   j = 3;
   printf("sum = %d, product = %d\n", i + j, i * j);
}

It shows a few of the things that we can do to/with variables. These include setting the value of a variable. We do this with a statement like:

i = 5;

The equal sign (

) here doesn't mean quite the same thing that it does in mathematics. It is the assignment operator . In many ways it's best to think of it as if it were a left-pointing arrow. It takes whatever is on the right and puts it into the variable on the left. If that variable had a value previously, then the old value is replaced.

The thing on the right of an assignment may be more than just a number. It may be any expression such as the expressions

i + j
i * j

in the


printf

statement. These expressions are used to do arithmetic. When the program runs, anywhere an expression appears, that expression is evaluated and it's value is used as if a number had been put there. For example, if instead of the statement


j = 3;

we had the statement


j = i + 12;

, then

would have the value 17 after that statement was executed.

What statement would you use to set the variable

foo

to the square of the value of

bar

? (Remember that to square a number, you multiply it by itself.)