[antonvs]

> referring to passed values as distinct from received values.

That’s not the distinction being made by those terms.

“Parameter” refers to a named variable in a function definition.

“Argument” refers to an actual value that’s passed to a function when it’s called.

It’s exactly the same as the distinction between variables and values (which you probably see the use for), just applied to the special cases of function signatures and function calls.

(As an aside, in the lambda calculus this relationship becomes a perfect equivalence: all variables are parameters and all values are arguments.)

[MangoToupe]

Well, I certainly would not interpret the terms that way, but you do you.

[antonvs]

It's the standard definition in a software development context, which you can find all over the place. Here are some examples:

> "Parameters are named variables declared as part of a function. They are used to reference the arguments passed into the function."

-- MDN, https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Glossary/Parameter

> "A parameter is a special kind of variable used in a function to refer to one of the pieces of data provided as input to the function. These pieces of data are the values of the arguments with which the function is going to be called/invoked."

-- Programming Fundamentals, https://press.rebus.community/programmingfundamentals/chapte...

> "Parameters refer to the variables listed in a function's declaration, defining the input that the function can accept. Arguments, however, are the actual values passed to the function when it is called, filling the parameters during execution."

-- https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/computer-science-fundamentals/...

While you might be tempted to "do you" and use your own idiosyncratic definitions, I advise against it, since it makes it difficult for you to understand what others are saying, and vice versa.

[zombot]

There is nothing to "interpret". In programming, those terms are defined that way.

[rangerelf]

lol, it's not a "you do you" thing, that's what they're actually named, "parameters" and "arguments" have distinct objective definitions in this context and those are it. In this specific case it's you who's using made up words for concepts that others already have a specific name for.

[MangoToupe]

> that's what they're actually named

...by what authority? c'mon, communication is important, and insisting on the correctness of definitions tanks that.

EDIT: however, I will concede there's good evidence for widespread usage of this, and I'll adjust my usage accordingly. Insisting on "correctness" is just asinine, though.