Local & Global Variables

Exam code: 2210

Written by: Ashika|Reviewed by: Caroline Carroll|Updated 2 July 2026

Local Variables

What is a local variable?

A local variable is a variable declared within a specific scope, such as a function or a code block
Local variables are accessible only within the block in which they are defined, and their lifetime is limited to that particular block
Once the execution of the block ends, the local variable is destroyed, and its memory is released

Examples

In this code, you can see that the localVariable (with the value 10) is declared inside of the function printValue
This means that only this function can access and change the value in the local variable
It cannot be accessed by other modules in the program

Psuedocode
`PROCEDURE PrintValue() DECLARE LocalVariable : INTEGER LocalVariable ← 10 // Defines a local variable inside the procedure OUTPUT "The value of the local variable is: ", LocalVariable ENDPROCEDURE CALL PrintValue() // Call the procedure`

Psuedocode

PROCEDURE PrintValue()
    DECLARE LocalVariable : INTEGER
    LocalVariable ← 10  // Defines a local variable inside the procedure
    OUTPUT "The value of the local variable is: ", LocalVariable
ENDPROCEDURE

CALL PrintValue()  // Call the procedure

Python
`def printValue(): localVariable = 10 # Defines a local variable inside the function print("The value of the local variable is:", localVariable) printValue() # Call the function`

Global Variables

What is a global variable?

A global variable is a variable declared at the outermost level of a program.
They are declared outside any modules such as functions or procedures
Global variables have a global scope, which means they can be accessed and modified from any part of the program

Examples

In this code, you can see that the globalVariable (with the value 10) is declared outside of the function printValue
This means that this function and any other modules can access and change the value in the global variable

Psuedocode
`DECLARE GlobalVariable : INTEGER GlobalVariable ← 10 // Defines a global variable PROCEDURE PrintValue() OUTPUT "The value into the variable is: ", GlobalVariable ENDPROCEDURE CALL PrintValue() // Call the procedure`

Psuedocode

DECLARE GlobalVariable : INTEGER
GlobalVariable ← 10  // Defines a global variable

PROCEDURE PrintValue()
    OUTPUT "The value into the variable is: ", GlobalVariable
ENDPROCEDURE

CALL PrintValue()  // Call the procedure

Python
`globalVariable = 10 # Defines a global variable def printValue(): global globalVariable print("The value into the variable is:", globalVariable) printValue() # Call the function`

Local Variables

Local Variables

What is a local variable?

Examples

Global Variables

Global Variables

What is a global variable?

Examples

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