Data types in mathematics

To effectively describe the nature of data that can be represented in a Java program and the operations to manipulate such data, we will use the concept of data type.

A data type is characterized in mathematical terms by:

• A domain, i.e., a set of possible values (e.g., integer numbers, real numbers, etc.);
• A set of operations on the elements of the domain (e.g., sum, multiplications, etc.);
• A set of literals, denoting mathematical constants (e.g., 23).

Such a characterization allows us to identify in a precise way the values that we intend to represent and the operations to manipulate them.