What is the basic assignment operator?

What is the basic assignment operator?

• A. =
• B. +
• C. -
• D. *

Answer: (A)

The basic assignment operator is the symbol that stores a value into a variable. It takes the value on the right and puts it into the variable on the left. In almost all languages this is written with an equals sign. For example, x = 5 assigns the number 5 to x. After this line, x holds 5. The other symbols listed are arithmetic operators: plus, minus, and asterisk perform addition, subtraction, and multiplication, respectively, not assignment. You might see augmented forms like x += 3, which adds to x and then stores the result, but the fundamental way to set a variable’s value is with the equals sign. This helps you read code by distinguishing the action of binding a value to a name from performing arithmetic.

The basic assignment operator is the symbol that stores a value into a variable. It takes the value on the right and puts it into the variable on the left. In almost all languages this is written with an equals sign. For example, x = 5 assigns the number 5 to x. After this line, x holds 5. The other symbols listed are arithmetic operators: plus, minus, and asterisk perform addition, subtraction, and multiplication, respectively, not assignment. You might see augmented forms like x += 3, which adds to x and then stores the result, but the fundamental way to set a variable’s value is with the equals sign. This helps you read code by distinguishing the action of binding a value to a name from performing arithmetic.