What are the primitive data types in computer programming?

The primitive data types in computer programming are integer, floating point, boolean, character and string.

In more detail, these primitive data types are the basic building blocks of data manipulation in computer programming. They are the simplest forms of data that a programming language can recognise and handle. Each of these data types serves a specific purpose and has a specific range of values that it can hold.

The integer data type, often referred to as 'int', is used to store whole numbers. These can be both positive and negative, but they cannot contain decimal points. The range of values an integer can hold depends on the specific programming language and the system it's running on, but typically it's between -2,147,483,648 and 2,147,483,647.

The floating point data type, often referred to as 'float', is used to store numbers with decimal points. Like integers, they can be both positive and negative. The range of values a float can hold is much larger than an integer, but they are less precise. This is because floats are stored in a way that prioritises range over precision, which can lead to rounding errors.

The boolean data type, often referred to as 'bool', is used to store true or false values. These are often used in conditional statements, where the program needs to make a decision based on whether a certain condition is true or false.

The character data type, often referred to as 'char', is used to store single characters. These can be letters, numbers, punctuation marks, or any other symbol that can be represented as a character. In most programming languages, characters are stored as their ASCII value, which is a unique number assigned to each possible character.

The string data type is used to store sequences of characters. This is essentially a list of characters, and it's often used to store text. In some programming languages, strings are considered a primitive data type, while in others they are considered a composite data type because they are made up of multiple characters.

Understanding these primitive data types is fundamental to learning how to program, as they form the basis of all data manipulation.