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Software Engineering vocabulary · Programming Concepts

Argument

Meaning in software engineering, with examples

/ˈɑːrɡjumənt/nounCore term

In software engineering, argument means: The actual value you give to a function when you call it. In add(2, 3), the numbers 2 and 3 are the arguments.

In Turkish: argüman, bağımsız değişken

How it is used

You pass an argument to a function. Strictly, parameters are the names in the function definition and arguments are the values at the call site, but many developers mix the two words. Command-line tools also take arguments.

Example sentences

  1. You're passing the arguments in the wrong order: the user ID should come first.

  2. This function takes two arguments and an optional third one for the timeout.

Common collocations

  • pass an argument
  • take an argument
  • optional argument
  • command-line arguments
  • invalid argument
  • parameterA named input that a function or method accepts, listed in its definition. The actual value you pass in when you call it is called the argument.
  • functionA named block of code that does one job. It can take input values, and it often returns a result to the code that called it.
  • callTo make a function, method or API run from another part of the code. As a noun, 'a call' is one such request, for example 'an API call'.
  • methodA function that belongs to a class or object and usually works with that object's data, for example user.save() or list.sort().

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Programming Concepts

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