Difference between arguments and parameters in C/C++

Argument

An argument is a reference to the values ​​passed in a function when the function is called. These values ​​are often the source of a function that requires arguments during execution. These values ​​are assigned to variables in the definition of the called function. The types of the values ​​passed into the function are the same as the types of the variables specified in the function definition. They are also known as actual arguments or actual parameters.

For example, suppose a function needs to be called sum() with two numbers to add. These two numbers are called arguments and are passed to sum() when it is called from somewhere else.

C

// C code to illustrate Arguments
 
#include 
 
// sum: Function definition
int sum(int a, int b)
{
    // returning the addition
    return a + b;
}
 
// Driver code
int main()
{
    int num1 = 10, num2 = 20, res;
 
    // sum() is called with
    // num1 & num2 as ARGUMENTS.
    res = sum(num1, num2);
 
    // Displaying the result
    printf("The summation is %d", res);
    return 0;
}

C++

// C++ code to illustrate Arguments
#include 
using namespace std;
 
// sum: Function definition
int sum(int a, int b)
{
    // returning the addition
    return a + b;
}
 
// Driver code
int main()
{
    int num1 = 10, num2 = 20, res;
 
    // sum() is called with
    // num1 & num2 as ARGUMENTS.
    res = sum(num1, num2);
 
    // Displaying the result
    cout 

Output:

The summation is 30

Parameter

Parameters are called variables defined in a function declaration or function definition. These variables are used to receive arguments passed during function calls. The parameters in the function prototype are applied to the execution of the function in which it is defined. They are also known as formal arguments or formal parameters.

For example, suppose a function needs to be defined Mult() to multiply two numbers. These two numbers are considered parameters and are defined while defining the function Mult().

C

// C code to illustrate Parameters
 
#include 
 
// Mult: Function definition
// a and b are the PARAMETERS
int Mult(int a, int b)
{
    // returning the multiplication
    return a * b;
}
 
// Driver code
int main()
{
    int num1 = 10, num2 = 20, res;
 
    // Mult() is called with
    // num1 & num2 as ARGUMENTS.
    res = Mult(num1, num2);
 
    // Displaying the result
    printf("The multiplication is %d", res);
    return 0;
}

C++

// C++ code to illustrate Parameters
 
#include 
using namespace std;
 
// Mult: Function definition
// a and b are the parameters
int Mult(int a, int b)
{
    // returning the multiplication
    return a * b;
}
 
// Driver code
int main()
{
    int num1 = 10, num2 = 20, res;
 
    // Mult() is called with
    // num1 & num2 as ARGUMENTS.
    res = Mult(num1, num2);
 
    // Displaying the result
    cout 

Output:

The multiplication is 200

Difference between Arguments and Parameters

int num = 20;
Call(num)
 
    // num is argument

int Call(int rnum)
{
    printf("the num is %d", rnum);
}
 
// rnum is parameter