What type of statement assigns a value to a variable?

An assignment statement is specifically designed to assign a value to a variable. In programming, when you create a variable, you often need to store a specific value for later use, which is accomplished through an assignment statement. This is typically done using an equal sign ("=") in many programming languages, where the value on the right side of the "=" symbol is assigned to the variable name on the left.

For example, if you have a variable named "x" and you want to assign it the value "10", you would use an assignment statement like x = 10;. This effectively tells the program to store the value "10" in the variable "x", allowing you to retrieve or manipulate it later in your code.

Understanding how assignment statements work is fundamental to programming, as they are the primary means of allocating and updating variable values throughout the execution of a program. This contrasts with the other types of statements mentioned, which serve different purposes, such as declaring variables, controlling the flow of a program, or establishing conditions for operations.