What are default and optional parameters in programming?

Can you explain what default and optional parameters are in programming?

Sure! Default parameters are values that are automatically assigned to function parameters if no argument is provided. Optional parameters are those that can be omitted when calling a function.

Can you give me an example of a function with default parameters?

Absolutely! Here's a simple example in Python:

def greet(name, greeting='Hello'):
    return f'{greeting}, {name}!'

In this case, if you call greet('Alice'), it will return 'Hello, Alice!'. If you call greet('Alice', 'Hi'), it will return 'Hi, Alice!'.

What about optional parameters? How do they work?

Optional parameters allow you to call a function without providing all the arguments. In Python, you can define them by assigning a default value. For example:

def add(a, b=5):
    return a + b

Here, if you call add(3), it will return 8, but if you call add(3, 2), it will return 5.

Thanks! That makes it clearer. Are there any languages that handle these differently?

Yes, different programming languages have their own syntax and rules for default and optional parameters. For instance, JavaScript uses the = operator for default values, while languages like C++ have a different approach. It's always good to check the specific language documentation!