What term describes the name of a variable in programming?

The term "Identifiers" refers to the names assigned to variables in programming. Identifiers are essential for distinguishing different variables and managing data within a program. They allow programmers to reference and manipulate specific data stored in memory. Identifiers can include a wide variety of characters, such as letters, numbers, and underscores, but they must adhere to specific naming conventions set by the programming language in use.

For instance, in many programming languages, identifiers cannot begin with a digit and must not contain spaces. They play a crucial role in code readability and maintainability by providing meaningful names that convey the purpose of the variable. The use of meaningful identifiers helps other developers (or the original developer at a later time) understand what the variable represents without needing to decipher its associated data.

The other terms—operands, keywords, and operators—serve different purposes in programming. Operands refer to the data values that operators manipulate, keywords are reserved words with special meaning in the programming language that dictate control flow, and operators are symbols that perform operations on variables and values. Understanding identifiers is foundational for writing effective and understood code.