What is the proper name for the variables you pass into a function in PHP

Question

function foo($bar,$barbar,$option="") {}

Is there a proper term for $bar etc., and/or name for optional variables?

Somewhat related: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/156767/whats-the-difference-between-an-argument-and-a-parameter — Mechanical snail, Aug 21 '12 at 01:35

score 1 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 12:26

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In that example, $bar is a parameter. Given your example, in a call of foo(1, 2, 3); the value 1 would be an argument. See this question for the distinction. (tl;dr version: parameters are the slots/variables that hold the arguments.)

$option is an optional parameter.

edited May 23 '17 at 12:26

Community

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answered Jul 20 '11 at 18:59

cdhowie

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Thanks! This is exactly what I was looking for. I knew this, or at least learned it long ago and forgot it. – aslum Jul 20 '11 at 23:09

What is the proper name for the variables you pass into a function in PHP

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