String (computing)

In computing and more specifically in various programming languages, strings are a variable type that can hold text, as opposed to integer variables (so called int variables) that can only hold integers (e.g. a number, such as 5) or a "float" variable, which can hold floating point numbers (e.g. numbers with decimal places - 5.5, 6.3, etc.)

Some languages, such as Java, do require the developer to declare a variable as a String type. Other languages, such as Python automatically "type casts" its variables. This can be helpful or it can also get in the way - if the number 1 is type cast by Python as a string (because it is in a list for example), the developer has to consciously convert that string variable to an 'int' type before any math functions can be performed.