Activity 1.3.6 - Tuples and Lists

Dice Roller/Letter Picker Code:

Conclusion Questions:

1.       Consider a string, tuple, and list of characters.

In []: a = 'acbde'

In []: b = ('a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e')

In []: c = ['a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e']

The values of a[3], b[3], and c[3] are all the same. In what ways are a, b, and c different?

a[3] is in a string, and cannot be indexed like a list or tuple. b[3] is in a tuple, which means it's immutable - unable to be altered in any way. c[3] is in a list, which means it works like a tuple (an array of indexed values), but it can also be changed (mutable).

2.      Why do computer programming languages almost always have a variety of variable types? Why can't everything be represented with an integer?

There are many variable types because we need a way to manipulate integers and values in a way that allows us to create functions and solve problems. While the computer eventually transforms the code into integers - 1's and 0's - it is manipulated at the programming level by substituting integers with letters and other symbols, which allows us to do more complex things with it.