Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Verified for the 2026 exam
Verified for the 2026 exam•Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Definition
A data type is a classification of the type of data that a variable or expression can hold. It determines the operations that can be performed on the data and how the data is stored in memory.
Related terms
String: A string is a specific type of data type that represents text or characters. It is enclosed within quotation marks and can contain both words and numbers.
Integer: An integer is another data type that represents whole numbers without any decimal points. Unlike strings, integers do not require quotation marks.