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Constants

What are Constants? 🌟​

Constants are like permanent markers—once you write something, it stays that way! These are values in your program that never change.

In pseudo-code, constants are declared using the CONSTANT keyword. Let’s see how they work and how to convert them to Python.

Syntax in Pseudo-Code​

Here’s how constants are declared in pseudo-code:

CONSTANT ConstantName ← Value

Examples:​

CONSTANT Pi ← 3.14159
CONSTANT SchoolName ← "Greenwood High"
CONSTANT MaxScore ← 100

Conversion to Python 🐍​

In Python, we don’t have a special CONSTANT keyword. Instead, we use uppercase variable names as a convention to show they shouldn’t be changed.

Here’s how the above pseudo-code converts to Python:

Constants in Python
PI = 3.14159  # Constant for Pi
SCHOOL_NAME = "Greenwood High"  # Name of the school
MAX_SCORE = 100  # Maximum score

Why Use Constants? 🤔​

  • Prevent Mistakes: Keeps important values from being accidentally changed.
  • Improve Readability: Makes your code easier to understand.
  • Consistent Naming: Ensures everyone knows these values won’t change.
Fun Fact

In Python, there’s nothing stopping you from changing a "constant" value. But just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Stick to the rules for cleaner code!

Let’s Practice 📝​

Convert these pseudo-code constants into Python:

Challenge
CONSTANT SpeedOfLight ← 299792458
CONSTANT GoldenRatio ← 1.618
CONSTANT WelcomeMessage ← "Hello, World!"

Python Solution:

SPEED_OF_LIGHT = 299792458
GOLDEN_RATIO = 1.618
WELCOME_MESSAGE = "Hello, World!"

Well done, future coding genius! 🎓✨