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Keyword vs Variable - What's the difference?

keyword | variable |

In programming terms the difference between keyword and variable

is that keyword is a reserved word used to identify a specific command, function, etc while variable is a named memory location in which a program can store intermediate results and from which it can read them.

As nouns the difference between keyword and variable

is that keyword is any word used as the key to a code while variable is something that is variable.

As a verb keyword

is to tag with keywords, as for example to facilitate searching.

As an adjective variable is

able to vary.

keyword

Alternative forms

* *

Noun

(en noun)
  • Any word used as the key to a code.
  • (information science) Any word used in a reference work to link to other words or other information.
  • (programming) A reserved word used to identify a specific command, function etc.
  • * 1982 , Popular Computing (volume 1, issues 9-12, page 113)
  • Each function has an entry address which must be quoted after the USR keyword .
  • (linguistics) Any word that occurs in a text more often than normal.
  • Synonyms

    * (l)

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To tag with keywords, as for example to facilitate searching.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2008, date=March 12, author=Philip Gefter, title=Type in ‘Native American’ and Search (Someday) 13 Million Photos, work=New York Times citation
  • , passage=Besides being able to search the photography collections, of which 3,000 images have been scanned in so far, the feature is meant to provide a more subjective and spontaneous way for visitors to view the art: browsing images, looking at them sequentially and keywording , or tagging, them for themselves and other viewers. }} ----

    variable

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Able to vary.
  • variable''' winds or seasons; a '''variable quantity
  • Likely to vary.
  • * Shakespeare
  • Lest that thy love prove likewise variable .
  • Marked by diversity or difference.
  • (mathematics) Having no fixed quantitative value.
  • (biology) Tending to deviate from a normal or recognized type.
  • Synonyms

    * (able to vary) alterable, flexible, changeable, mutable * (likely to vary) fickle, fluctuating, inconstant, shifting, unstable, unsteady * (marked by diversity or difference) varying * aberrant

    Antonyms

    * (able to vary) constant, invariable, immutable, unalterable, unchangeable * (likely to vary) constant, invariable, immutable, unchangeable * (marked by diversity or difference) unchanging * constant, invariable

    Derived terms

    * variability * variableness

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • Something that is .
  • Something whose value may be dictated or discovered.
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=May-June, author= Katie L. Burke
  • , title= In the News , volume=101, issue=3, page=193, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Bats host many high-profile viruses that can infect humans, including severe acute respiratory syndrome and Ebola. A recent study explored the ecological variables that may contribute to bats’ propensity to harbor such zoonotic diseases by comparing them with another order of common reservoir hosts: rodents.}}
  • (mathematics) A quantity that may assume any one of a set of values.
  • (mathematics) A symbol representing a variable.
  • (programming) A named memory location in which a program can store intermediate results and from which it can read them.
  • (astronomy) A variable star.
  • (nautical) A shifting wind, or one that varies in force.
  • (nautical, in the plural) Those parts of the sea where a steady wind is not expected, especially the parts between the trade-wind belts.
  • Synonyms

    * (something that is variable) changeable * (something whose value may be dictated or discovered) parameter * variable quantity

    Antonyms

    * (something that is variable) constant, invariable

    Hyponyms

    * See also

    Derived terms

    * bound variable * categorical variable * continuous variable * dependent variable * discrete variable * flow variable * free variable * global variable * independent variable * instance variable * interval variable * local variable * member variable * metasyntactic variable * nominal variable * ordinal variable * ratio variable * stock variable * variable star * variably * vary

    See also

    * argument * variate