What is the difference between a string and a number?

• A. A string is text used for display.
• B. A string and a number are the same type.
• C. A string is text; a number is a numeric value used in calculations.
• D. A number is a numeric value used for text formatting.

Answer: (C)

The main idea here is understanding the difference between data types: strings and numbers. A string is text—a sequence of characters that represents letters, spaces, symbols, or digits as characters you can display or store as data. A number is a numeric value that you can use in calculations, comparisons, and math operations. In most programming languages, strings are created by putting text in quotes, while numbers are written without quotes and used for arithmetic. You can have digits inside a string, but that text isn’t treated as a number unless you convert it. That’s why the best description is that a string is text and a number is a numeric value used in calculations. The other statements either describe strings too narrowly or mix up the roles of strings and numbers.