Plate,
I can tell you're starting from scratch, but that's okay, we all have to start from somewhere
Your computer executes logic statements, which can take many forms, but one form is a simple algebraic expression. However, if you write a logic statement with fixed values (called constants) in it, there is only one possible outcome for that expression, because everything has a fixed value.
So a variable is just like what you learned in school:
A + B = C
This expression has millions of possible uses, because each letter A and B can be assigned any value at any time.
Camsoft reserves small letter names for one type of variable, and for other types, it uses what Murphy has described, a \ followed by a number. It is simply a naming convention that Camsoft dreamt up, nothing mysterious once you understand it.
Programming is fun to learn once you get a few of the basic rules under your belt. It takes some cleverness to reduce what you want to control, to the rigid rules of logic that your computer can execute correctly under all circumstances.
First you get good, then you get fast. Then grouchiness sets in.
(Note: The opinions expressed in this post are my own and are not necessarily those of CNCzone and its management)