Which statement about the assignment operator is TRUE?

The assignment operator’s primary function is to assign values to variables, making the statement that it “assigns a value to a variable” accurate. In Java, you use the assignment operator (e.g., the equal sign = ) to store the result of expressions in variables. For instance, when you write int a = 5;, the value 5 is assigned to the variable a. This is a fundamental concept in programming, as it allows for the manipulation and storage of data within a program for later use.

The other statements do not hold true in the context of the assignment operator. The operator is not limited to integer data types; it can be used with various data types, including floats, characters, strings, and objects. Although it is involved in expressions, it does not evaluate them; rather, it is the assignment process itself that follows evaluation. Lastly, while some operators can be overloaded in Java, the assignment operator is not among them, which reinforces the specific nature of its function. Thus, the option that captures the essence of the assignment operator correctly is the one that states it assigns a value to a variable.