Question

Assume the variable big references a string. Write a statement that converts the string it references to lowercase and assigns the converted string to the variable little .

Short answer

Answer: The value of the 'little' variable after the step-by-step conversion is executed is "hello".

Step-by-step solution

1. Assign value to the variable big

First, we need to have a string value assigned to the variable 'big'. Let's assume the string value assigned to the variable 'big' is "HELLO". big = "HELLO"

2. Convert big to lowercase using the "lower()" method.

Next, we will use the "lower()" method on the string value of 'big' to get a new string with all characters in lowercase. lower_case = big.lower()

3. Assign the lowercase result to the variable 'little'

Then, we will assign the result of the previous step to the variable 'little': little = lower_case Now the variable 'little' is assigned the value "hello" which is the lowercase conversion of the string in the variable 'big'.

Key concepts

Lowercase Conversion in Python

Converting strings to lowercase is a fundamental task in text processing that serves various purposes like standardizing data inputs or enabling case-insensitive comparisons. In Python, this operation is made effortless through the use of a built-in string method called lower().

This method does not require any additional arguments and can be invoked directly from the string object. For instance, if we have the string 'Python', we convert it to all lowercase by using 'Python'.lower(), which will yield 'python'.

However, it's important to note that string objects in Python are immutable. This means when we use the lower() method on a string, it doesn't change the original string but instead returns a new string where all the uppercase characters are converted to lowercase. This is why in the exercise, the new lowercase string is stored in a separate variable, little.

Utilizing this method provides a more readable and concise way to handle text conversion without the need for manual iteration and character manipulation, preventing errors and saving time.

String Methods

In Python's world, strings come with a powerful set of methods that perform a variety of manipulations or checks. The lower() method is just one of many string methods available.

Other common string methods include upper() for converting to uppercase, strip() for trimming whitespace, replace() for replacing parts of the string, find() to locate substrings, and split() to break a string into a list of substrings based on a separator.

These methods greatly simplify string processing. For example,

• To know if a string ends with a certain suffix, use endswith().
• To count the occurrences of a specific character or substring, use count().

Each method operates on the string on which it is called and follows a syntax pattern of string.method(arguments) if additional arguments are necessary. Understanding and mastering string methods are essential for any task related to text manipulation in Python.

Variable Assignment

In programming, variable assignment is the process by which an identifier is associated with a value in memory. This binding allows us to use variables to store, modify and retrieve data.

In Python, you can assign a value to a variable using the = operator. For example, the statement x = 5 assigns the value 5 to the variable x.

Assignment can take place multiple times, letting a variable hold different values at different points in the code. It's important to remember that each time you assign a new value to a variable, the old value is overwritten. In the context of the provided exercise:

• The variable big is assigned the string 'HELLO'.
• After applying the lower() method, the result is assigned to the variable little.

Understanding variable assignment is crucial, as it allows us to keep track of data within our programs and operate with it effectively.