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syntactic unit > access unit > variable > parameter

parameter (argument, formal parameter)
subject			fact

parameter	is a synonym of argument
	is a synonym of formal parameter
	can have the same name as a member variable
	has definition A variable that transmits a primitive datum or object reference to a method or constructor
	has purpose to transmit a primitive datum or object reference to a method or constructor
	is a subtopic of Variables and Data Types
	is initialized by calling the method or constructor or exception handler
	is passed by value
	is a kind of variable
variable	can be accessed by other variables and methods in any class in the same package by default
	can contain different classes of objects depending on the type of the variable
	can contain only values that are of the same type as the variable or a subtype of the variable's type
	can have an interface as its type which means that, with the variable, you can invoke any operation supported by the interface
	can refer to a particular object, several different objects during the execution of a program, or no object at all
	has 1 value at any one time which is the object or class or primitive datum that it refers to
	has 1 name
	has scope which is the block in which it is declared
	has type
	has lifetime which is the time its block is being executed
	has scope
	has part value
	is declared by giving the data type followed by the name of the variable
	is destroyed in the block where it is declared
	may have access modifier public or private or protected
	refers to a class or an object or a primitive datum
	should be as private as possible
	should have comment if it is non-obvious
access unit	has access mode
syntactic unit	has syntax rule bold = mandatory italic = non-terminal normal font = optional

Kinds of parameter :

• applet parameter (5 facts)
• command-line argument (6 facts)
• exception-handler parameter (2 facts)
• method parameter (6 facts)

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