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Operand vs Parameter - What's the difference?

operand | parameter |

As nouns the difference between operand and parameter

is that operand is a quantity to which an operator is applied (in 3 - x, the operands of the subtraction operator are 3 and x) while parameter is a variable kept constant during an experiment, calculation or similar.

operand

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • (mathematics, computing) A quantity to which an operator is applied (in 3 - x, the operands of the subtraction operator are 3 and x).
  • * 1992 , Michael A. Miller, The 68000 Microprocessor Family: Architecture, Programming, and Applications (page 47)
  • When the microprocessor decodes the JSR opcode, it stores the operand into the TEMP register and pushes the current contents of the PC ($00 0128) onto the stack.

    Anagrams

    *

    parameter

    English

    Alternative forms

    * parametre

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (mathematics, physics) A variable kept constant during an experiment, calculation or similar.
  • (programming) An input variable of a procedure definition, that gets an actual value (argument) at execution time (formal parameter) .
  • Roughly, a tuple of arguments could be thought of as a vector, whereas a tuple of parameters''' could be thought of as a covector (i.e., linear functional). When a function is called, a '''parameter tuple becomes "bound" to an argument tuple, allowing the function instance itself to be computed to yield a return value. This would be roughly analogous to applying a covector to a vector (by taking their dot product (or, rather, matrix-product of row vector and column vector)) to obtain a scalar.
  • (programming) An actual value given to such a formal parameter (argument or actual parameter) .
  • A characteristic or feature that distinguishes something from others.
  • (geometry) In the ellipse and hyperbola, a third proportional to any diameter and its conjugate, or in the parabola, to any abscissa and the corresponding ordinate.
  • The parameter of the principal axis of a conic section is called the latus rectum.
  • (crystallography) The ratio of the three crystallographic axes which determines the position of any plane.
  • (crystallography) The fundamental axial ratio for a given species.
  • Usage notes

    * (the value used to instantiate the name) Some authors regard use of parameter'' to mean ''argument'' as imprecise, preferring that ''parameter'' refers only to the name that will be instantiated, and ''argument to refer to the value that will be supplied to it at runtime.

    Synonyms

    * (value passed to a function) argument * (characteristic distinguishing something from others) distinguishing feature * See also

    Derived terms

    * actual parameter * formal parameter

    See also

    * variable