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What is the difference between variable and parameter?

variable | parameter |

Parameter is a synonym of variable.



In programming terms the difference between variable and parameter

is that variable is a named memory location in which a program can store intermediate results and from which it can read them while parameter is an actual value given to such a formal parameter (argument or actual parameter).

As nouns the difference between variable and parameter

is that variable is something that is variable while parameter is a variable kept constant during an experiment, calculation or similar.

As an adjective variable

is able to vary.

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

    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