Function (programming): Difference between revisions

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+#REDIRECT [[subprogram]]
-[[nl:functie (informatica)]]
-In [[programming]], a '''function''' is a part of a program that can be called with certain arguments (or parameters) from inside the program or elsewhere, and returns a value.
-Although the term is related to the mathematical term it is less strict; a function may return different results each time, even if it is called with the same arguments, and a function may have [[Side-effect (computer science)|side-effects]], that is, it may cause changes that remain after the call of the function has ended. Such functions can be mathematically modelled by incorporating a notion of time and global parameters: see [[denotational semantics]] for a fuller treatment of this subject.
-An exception to this difference is a function in pure [[functional programming]] that returns always the same result if called with the same arguments and has no side effects.
-A [[procedure]] is similar to a function but has only side effects and does not return a value.
-In some [[programming language]]s, such as [[ANSI C]], where there are only functions there is often a type such as <code>void</code> for the result of a function that has no result.