Variables

Developers assign a name to reference each unique thing stored. This name is called a variable

Variable names cannot use special characters (except % and $ in certain situations)

Use a dollar ( $ ) sign only to start the name of a static variable

a private attribute is available only to the class that defines it and to any subclasses of that class

a public attribute is available to any caller within the same package

Creating a variable is called

Putting data into a variable is called

Assignment can take place anytime after a variable has been declared—at declaration, many lines later, or after an event occurs. Assignment takes place when the data is not known.

Constants Constants are properties with a fixed value that cannot be altered. You can assign a value to a constant only once, and the assignment must occur in proximity to the declaration of the constant. An error results if you attempt to change the data in a constant. Constants are declared using the const keyword var .

By convention, constant names are all caps with words separated by an underscore. Does this mean that SHIPDOCK.class.asasm is a variable?