Variables are similar to constants, but their values can be changed as the program runs. Variables must first be declared in Pascal before they can be used:

var   IdentifierList1 : DataType1;   IdentifierList2 : DataType2;   IdentifierList3 : DataType3;   ...

IdentifierList is a series of identifiers, separated by commas (,). All identifiers in the list are declared as being of the same data type.

The basic data types in Pascal include:

• integer
• real
• char
• Boolean

Standard Pascal does not make provision for the string data type, but most modern compilers do. Experienced Pascal programmers also use pointers for dynamic memory allocation, objects for object-oriented programming, and many others, but this gets you started.

More information on Pascal data types:

• The integer data type can contain integers from -32768 to 32767. This is the signed range that can be stored in a 16-bit word, and is a legacy of the era when 16-bit CPUs were common. For backward compatibility purposes, a 32-bit signed integer is a longint and can hold a much greater range of values.
• The real data type has a range from 3.4x10^-38 to 3.4x10³⁸, in addition to the same range on the negative side. Real values are stored inside the computer similarly to scientific notation, with a mantissa and exponent, with some complications. In Pascal, you can express real values in your code in either fixed-point notation or in scientific notation, with the character E separating the mantissa from the exponent. Thus,
        452.13 is the same as 4.5213e2
• The char data type holds characters. Be sure to enclose them in single quotes, like so: 'a' 'B' '+' Standard Pascal uses 8-bit characters, not 16-bits, so Unicode, which is used to represent all the world's language sets in one UNIfied CODE system, is not supported.
• The Boolean data type can have only two values:
  TRUE and FALSE

An example of declaring several variables is:

var   age, year, grade : integer;   circumference : real;   LetterGrade : char;   DidYouFail : Boolean;