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Practice

The Difference Between Parameters and Arguments

When defining and calling functions, it's easy to confuse parameters and arguments.

In this lesson, we'll take a closer look at the difference between parameters and arguments.


Parameters​

Parameters refer to the variables used when defining a function.

Function Definition and Parameters Example
def add(x, y):
    return x + y

In the example above, x and y are parameters of the add function.

When a function is called, the parameters are initialized with the values passed, and are used within the code block.


Arguments​

Arguments are the actual values passed when calling a function.

Function Definition and Parameters Example
# x, y are parameters
def add(x, y):
    return x + y

# 3, 5 are arguments
result = add(3, 5)

# 8
print(result)

In the code above, 3 and 5 are arguments in the call add(3, 5).

When the function is called, arguments are passed to the function's parameters and are used inside the function.

In summary, parameters are variables defined in a function to receive values, whereas arguments are the actual values passed to the function when it is called.

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