What are default and optional parameters in programming?

Can you explain the difference between default and optional parameters in programming?

Sure! Default parameters are values that are automatically assigned to a function's parameters if no argument is provided. Optional parameters, on the other hand, are parameters that can be omitted when calling a function.

Can you give me an example of each?

Of course! For default parameters, in Python you might have a function like def greet(name, greeting='Hello'):. If you call greet('Alice'), it uses 'Hello' as the greeting. For optional parameters, you could have def add(a, b=None): where b can be omitted.

What happens if I don't provide a value for an optional parameter?

If you don't provide a value for an optional parameter, it will take on the value of None or whatever default value you set, allowing the function to still execute without errors.

Are there any programming languages that don't support default parameters?

Yes, some older programming languages like C do not support default parameters directly, but you can achieve similar functionality through function overloading.