Basic Types

We have already seen integers (int) and strings (string) being used in several examples, but the third basic type, float, is new. A float, also called a real number or a floating-point number, is different from an integer in that it can have a fraction part:

6.783   // This is a floating-point number
17      // This is an integer
17.0    // This is a floating-point number

Note that Pike differentiates between integer and floating-point numbers that happen to be equal to an integer. If you write 17 in a Pike program you get an integer, and if you write 17.0 you get a floating-point number. Inside the computer they look completely different.

You can define variables like this:

int number_of_monkeys;  // An integer variable
float z = -16.2;        // A floating-point variable
string file_name;       // A string variable
mixed x;                // A variable for anything

The data type mixed means “any type of value”.