A local variable is a piece of data—integer, float, string, object, or location—that is stored on an object under a builder-specified name. If the object is lost, so is the data. The nomenclature is ironic in a way for, while the data is "local" to the object on which it is stored, local variables are often used in the same way "global variables" are used in other programming contexts (particularly when the data is stored on the module object). Local variables can be set via scripting or from within the Toolset (although only integers, floats, and strings can be set via the Toolset). They are retrieved via scripting by specifying the object on which the data is stored and the name under which it is stored.