difference between argument and parameter

[cooolsson]

what's the difference between an argument and a parameter. My friend and i are going nuts over this question.

[boxfish]

For example, if you have this function:

def explain_param_vs_arg(param1, param2):
    print param1, param2

and call it like this:

explain_param_vs_arg("arg1", "arg2")

The variables param1 and param2 are the parameters, and the values that you give them, in this case "arg1" and "arg2", are the arguments. Wikipedia explains. This question could have been easily googled. In fact, that's what I did.
Hope this makes sense.

[cooolsson]

Thanks for the answer. Now i can sleep at night.

[gaurav1086]

there's as much difference as between a normal function and an inline function(or u may call it a macro). One is used in a simpler way (parameters) while the other in a more versatile way(arguments). thats all
regards

[exepaul]

unctions have parameters (def fn(parameter):) , and function calls have arguments (fn(argument)).

Parameters are defined by the names that appear in a function definition, whereas arguments are the values actually passed to a function when calling it. Parameters define what types of arguments a function can accept.

[Oralloy]

Common use seems to have both confused and used indiscriminatel y in conversation. One can talk about the parameters used to call a function or arguments in the function.

Us programmers aren't quite as precise about language as we aught.