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Kotlin - Variables
Variables are an important part of any programming. They are the names you give to
computer memory locations which are used to store values in a computer program and
later you use those names to retrieve the stored values and use them in your program.

Kotlin variables are created using either var or val keywords and then an equal sign = is
used to assign a value to those created variables.

Syntax
Following is a simple syntax to create two variables and then assign them different values:

var name = "Zara Ali"

var age = 19
var height = 5.2

Examples
Once a variable is created and assigned a value, later we can access its value using its
name as follows:

Open Compiler

fun main() {
var name = "Zara Ali"
var age = 19

println(name)
println(age)
}

When you run the above Kotlin program, it will generate the following output:

Zara Ali
19

Let's see one more example where we will access variable values using dollar sign $:

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Open Compiler

fun main() {
var name = "Zara Ali"
var age = 19

println("Name = $name")
println("Age = $age")
}

When you run the above Kotlin program, it will generate the following output:

Name = Zara Ali

Age = 19

Let's see one more example to display the variable values without using a dollar sign as
below:

Open Compiler

fun main() {
var name = "Zara Ali"
var age = 19

println("Name = " + name)

println("Age = " + age)
}

When you run the above Kotlin program, it will generate the following output:

Name = Zara Ali

Age = 19

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Kotlin Mutable Variables

Mutable means that the variable can be reassigned to a different value after initial
assignment. To declare a mutable variable, we use the var keyword as we have used in

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the above examples:

Open Compiler

fun main() {
var name = "Zara Ali"
var age = 19

println("Name = $name")
println("Age = $age")

name = "Nuha Ali"

age = 11
println("Name = $name")
println("Age = $age")
}

When you run the above Kotlin program, it will generate the following output:

Name = Zara Ali

Age = 19
Name = Nuha Ali
Age = 11

Kotlin Read-only Variables

A read-only variable can be declared using val (instead of var) and once a value is
assigned, it can not be re-assigned.

Open Compiler

fun main() {
val name = "Zara Ali"
val age = 19

println("Name = $name")
println("Age = $age")

name = "Nuha Ali" // Not allowed, throws an exception

age = 11

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println("Name = $name")
println("Age = $age")
}

When you run the above Kotlin program, it will generate the following output:

main.kt:8:4: error: val cannot be reassigned

name = "Nuha Ali" // Not allowed, throws an exception
^
main.kt:9:4: error: val cannot be reassigned
age = 11
^

Read-only vs Mutable
The Mutable variables will be used to define variables, which will keep charging their
values based on different conditions during program execution.

You will use Read-only variable to define different constant values i.e. the variables which
will retain their value throughout of the program.

Kotlin Variable Types

Kotlin is smart enough to recognise that "Zara Ali" is a string, and that 19 is a number
variable. However, you can explicitly specify a variable type while creating it:

Open Compiler

fun main() {
var name: String = "Zara Ali"
var age: Int = 19

println("Name = $name")
println("Age = $age")

name = "Nuha Ali"

age = 11
println("Name = $name")
println("Age = $age")
}

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When you run the above Kotlin program, it will generate the following output:

Name = Zara Ali

Age = 19
Name = Nuha Ali
Age = 11

Soon we will learn more about different data types available in Kotlin which can be used to
create different type of variables.

Kotlin Variable Naming Rules

There are certain rules to be followed while naming the Kotlin variables:

Kotlin variable names can contain letters, digits, underscores, and dollar signs.

Kotlin variable names should start with a letter or underscores

Kotlin variables are case sensitive which means Zara and ZARA are two different
variables.
Kotlin variable can not have any white space or other control characters.

Kotlin variable can not have names like var, val, String, Int because they are
reserved keywords in Kotlin.

Quiz Time (Interview & Exams Preparation)

Q 1 - Which of the following statements is correct about Kotlin Variables:

A - Kotlin variables are used to store the information during program execution.

B - Kotlin variables can be read-only (Not changeable) and mutable (Changeable)

C - Kotlin read-only variables are defined using val keyword where as mutable
variables are defined using var keyword.

D - All of the above

Answer : D

Explanation
All the given three statements are correct for Kotlin variables.

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Q 2 - Identify which line of the following program will raise an error:

var name = "Zara Ali"

val age = 19
name = "Nuha Ali"
age = 11

A - First Line

B - Second Line

C - Third Line

D - Last Line

Answer : D

Explanation
At the last line we are trying to change the value of a read-only variable, so it will
raise and exception at this line.

Q 3 - Which one is a wrong variable name in Kotlin

A - My Name

B - #MyName

C - %MyName

D - -MyName

E - All of the above

Answer : E

Explanation

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As per given rules to define a variable name in Kotlin, all the give variable names
are invalid

Q 4 - Which of the following statment is not correct about Kotlin variable

A - Kotlin variables are case sensitive.

B - Kotlin can differentiate between different datatypes without explicitly

specifying them.

C - Kotlin variables can be accessed in multiple ways.

D - Kotlin variable name can use any Kotlin reserved keyword

Answer : D

Explanation
Last statement is not correct because we can not make use of a reserved keyword
to name a Kotlin variable. Rest of the statements are correct.

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