What is the value of 'a' after executing 'a = 5' if 'int a = 4;' is defined previously?

The value of 'a' after executing 'a = 5' is indeed 5. This is because when you assign a new value to a variable, it overrides any previous value that variable may have.

Initially, 'a' is defined as an integer with a value of 4. When the statement 'a = 5' is executed, it updates the value of 'a' to 5. This action demonstrates the concept of variable reassignment, where the most recent assignment takes precedence over earlier ones.

The misunderstanding often arises from thinking that the original value of 'a' (4) persists after the reassignment, but it does not. Instead, 'a' now holds the value that has been assigned in the most recent operation, which, in this case, is 5.

By understanding this concept, you can see that variable values can change throughout the program, allowing for dynamic calculations and data manipulation.