$a=3; $b="x"; $c=4; $a*=3; #$a=$a*3; $a now equal to 9; $a/=3; #$a=$a/3; $a (9) divided by three which equals 3; $a+=2; #$a=$a+2; $a is now equal to 5; $a-=2; #$a=$a-2; $a is now equal to 3; $b x=3; #$b=$b x $3 $b is now equal to "xxx"; $b .="33"; #b=$b."33" $b is now equal to "xxx33";