Parameters and Arguments

Understanding parameters and arguments

Parameters and arguments are terms that are often used interchangeably to represent values that are provided for the function as an input. There’s a subtle difference though: the parameters of a function are set when the function is defined, whereas the arguments of a function are provided when it is called.

To see an example of a function that uses parameters, let’s create a function that squares numbers. In the example that follows, the square function accepts a single parameter, n, which is the number to be squared. In the body of the function, the name of the parameter acts just like a variable. We multiply this value by itself and return the result: