Written by the Fiveable Content Team โข Last updated September 2025
Verified for the 2026 exam
Verified for the 2026 examโขWritten by the Fiveable Content Team โข Last updated September 2025
Definition
Variable initialization is the process of assigning an initial value to a variable when it is declared. It ensures that the variable has a valid starting value before it is used in the program.
A data type defines the kind of values that can be stored in a variable. For example, int represents integers, and double represents floating-point numbers.
Declaration: Declaration refers to creating a new variable by specifying its data type and name.