generated from mwc/lab_names
d8c9ec1884
In a computer program a value is assigned to a name. The value can change, but the name stays the same. When I'm buying food at the grocery store, when I check out I'll see "total $". That's how much money I owe the grocery store. It changes every time I buy food there. (If it's the exact same amount as before, then it'll have a different timestamp). Every customer in the grocery store sees the same name: total $ when they check out, too. Each customer is responsible for their own purchases, and therefore, their own total $. When using variables (names), the computer program can be run a million times by a million different people, with the results (or transaction) corresponding to the person conducting the transaction.