Variable may refer to:
Computer science
*
Variable (computer science)
In computer programming, a variable is an abstract storage location paired with an associated symbolic name, which contains some known or unknown quantity of data or object referred to as a '' value''; or in simpler terms, a variable is a named ...
, a symbolic name associated with a value and whose associated value may be changed
Mathematics
*
Variable (mathematics)
In mathematics, a variable (from Latin language, Latin ) is a Mathematical symbol, symbol, typically a letter, that refers to an unspecified mathematical object. One says colloquially that the variable ''represents'' or ''denotes'' the object, a ...
, a symbol that represents a quantity in a mathematical expression, as used in many sciences
*
Propositional variable
In mathematical logic, a propositional variable (also called a sentence letter, sentential variable, or sentential letter) is an input variable (that can either be true or false) of a truth function. Propositional variables are the basic building ...
, taking the value true or false in mathematical logic
*
Random variable
A random variable (also called random quantity, aleatory variable, or stochastic variable) is a Mathematics, mathematical formalization of a quantity or object which depends on randomness, random events. The term 'random variable' in its mathema ...
, a variable in statistics whose value depends on random events
**
Categorical variable
In statistics, a categorical variable (also called qualitative variable) is a variable that can take on one of a limited, and usually fixed, number of possible values, assigning each individual or other unit of observation to a particular group or ...
, taking one of a finite number of values in a statistical problem, such as the head or tail result of a tossed coin
**
Independent and identically distributed random variables
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States
* Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artis ...
, statistically independent and having the same probability distribution
*
Fluent (mathematics), a time-varying quantity as coined by Isaac Newton in his early calculus
*
State variable
A state variable is one of the set of Variable (mathematics), variables that are used to describe the mathematical "state" of a dynamical system. Intuitively, the state of a system describes enough about the system to determine its future behavi ...
, used to describe the mathematical "state" of a dynamical system
* Slack variable, inserted to transform an inequality constraint in an optimization problem into an equality
* Dependent and independent variables, a variable classified according to whether or not it depends for its value on another variable of interest
* Free variables and bound variables, restricted or otherwise to a specified set of values, such as through a logical quantifier
* Complex variable, the argument or value of a function of a complex number in complex analysis
Physical and social sciences
* Variable (research), a logical set of attributes
* Control variable, a measurable entity which is constant (controlled) and unchanged throughout the course of a scientific experiment
* Variable star, a type of astronomical star
Other uses
* "The Variable", an episode of the television series ''Lost (2004 TV series), Lost''
See also
* Hidden variable (disambiguation)
* Variability (disambiguation)
* Variance (disambiguation)
{{Disambiguation
.