Text vs Numbers in Variables

Why this matters: mixing text and numbers is a common beginner pitfall—quotes decide whether JavaScript treats a value as data to display or a quantity to compute.

Variables can store different kinds of data. Two essentials:

• Strings (text) → always in quotes
• Numbers → never in quotes

Strings (Text) — Always Use Quotes

let firstName = "Emma";
let lastName = "Watson";
let favoriteColor = "blue";
let address = "123 Main Street";

Anything in quotes is a string (text).

Numbers — Never Use Quotes

let age = 30;
let price = 9.99;
let temperature = -5;
let score = 0;

Numbers are written without quotes. They can be:

• Whole numbers: 42
• Decimals: 3.14
• Negative: -10

⚠️ Critical Difference

let textNumber = "25";   // This is TEXT, not a number!
let realNumber = 25;     // This is an actual NUMBER

// Why does it matter?
console.log("25" + "25");  // "2525" (joins text)
console.log(25 + 25);      // 50 (adds numbers)

Real-World Example

// A user profile
let username = "gamer123";    // Text - it's a name
let level = 15;               // Number - for calculations
let coins = 500;              // Number - for calculations
let email = "gamer@email.com"; // Text - it's an address

Your Turn!

Create two variables:

1. username containing the text "Player1"
2. score containing the number 100