Language Fundamentals

Language Fundamentals

1. Encoding Sets

   • ASCII
   • Unicode
     • Attempts to include all languages' characters
     • Difficult to store and transfer
   • Separators
     • (), {}, ;,etc

2. Primitives

   • Numbers
     • int, byte, double, etc.
   • char
   • boolean
   • Most basic data types

3. Variables

   • Data placeholders
   • has an identifier
   • reference to an object OR:
   • primitive variable
   • must be unique in its scope
   • To get a negative number, flip the bits and add 1
   • Declaration: Creating the variable
   • Instantiation: Giving the variable a value

4. Constants

   • "final" keyword
   • value cannot change
   • Convention: VARIABLE_NAME

5. Literals

   • representation of a value for the compiler
   • primitive
     • Integer
       • Base 10, 8, 16, or 2
     • Floating point
       • Whole number, decimal, fractional, and (optional) exponent parts
       • Float or double
         • float has _F suffix
     • Boolean
       • true or false
   • String
     • single characters
     • \ escape characters
   • null