Question

What is the difference between an argument and a parameter variable?

Short answer

#tag_title# Short Answer The difference between an argument and a parameter variable lies in their usage during function declaration and function call. A parameter variable is used in the function declaration, acting as a placeholder or symbol for the input data that the function will receive when it is called. On the other hand, an argument is the actual value or variable that is passed into a function when it is called, corresponding to the parameter variable in the function declaration. In essence, parameter variables define the inputs in the function declaration, while arguments provide the actual data when the function is called.

Step-by-step solution

Definition of a Parameter Variable

A parameter variable is a variable used within the function declaration to represent the input data that the function will receive when it is called. It acts as a placeholder for the data that will be passed into the function.

Definition of an Argument

An argument is the actual value or variable that is passed into a function when it is called. The argument corresponds to the parameter variable in the function declaration and replaces the placeholder with the given data.

Example

Let's consider a simple example of a function called multiply that has two parameter variables 'a' and 'b' and returns the product of those variables. ```python def multiply(a, b): return a * b ``` In this example, 'a' and 'b' are parameter variables, representing the inputs the function will receive when it is called. Now, let's say we want to call the function to calculate the product of 5 and 6. We can do this by providing the values 5 and 6 as arguments: ```python result = multiply(5, 6) ``` In this case, 5 and 6 are the arguments that we pass to the function call, replacing the parameter variables 'a' and 'b' respectively. The function returns the product of 5 and 6, and stores the result in the variable 'result'.