# Data Types

Data is the building block of all computer programs. Programs are created by combining and manipulating different kinds of data in ways that make them do things, and a skilled programmer is one who knows the best ways to manipulate data in their programs.

Programs can be composed of different kinds of data and **data type** is the term computer programmers use to refer to each individual kind of data in their programs.

There are many different data types in **Sonar**, and the next sections will begin to explain them by describing each of them from the simplest to the more complex data types.