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What is the difference between attribute and parameter and argument? And how does this works? ex:-

int a = 10;//attribute
method(int a);//argument or parameter

And if i pass a argument dynamically then whether it will be called parameter or argument. thanks.

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    The second line of your code wouldn't even compile. The first line is unclear in terms of whether you're declaring an instance field or a local variable - both of which are more standard Java terminology than "attribute". Commented May 7, 2015 at 13:03
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    Attribute is what you put on top, argument is what you pass from a caller viewpoint, parameter is what's passed from a callee viewpoint. That, and java calls it annotations rather than attributes. Commented May 7, 2015 at 13:03
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    "Attributes" = those "variables" declared outside a method in a class, a.k.a. "fields"; "parameters" = types+names of the input values a method expects; "arguments" = values given to a method as it's ->parameters when the method is called. Commented May 7, 2015 at 13:03
  • parameter and argument are used interchangeably .And attribute , you can call, a piece of information about containing entity . Commented May 7, 2015 at 13:03
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    @AlokMishra: You may use parameter and argument interchangably, but they're quite distinct terms, and I think it's worth trying to use them properly. Commented May 7, 2015 at 13:04

2 Answers 2

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class SomeClass {

  private int someAttribute; // <-- Attribute (declaration)

  public void setSomeAttribute( int attrValue /* <-- Parameter (declaration) */ ) {
    int twice = attrValue * 2; // (local) variable
    this.someAttribute = twice;
  }

  public void doSomethingElse() {
    int x; // (local) variable
    x = 1;
    setSomeAttribute(x); // the value of x is the argument
    setSomeAttribute(999); // 999 is the argument
  }
}
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4 Comments

someAttribute is what I would call a field or member. I believe this is also how it's used in the JLS and other reliable documents. Do you have any source that calls them "attributes" in widespread usage?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/…
You can't assume specific terminology from such a general document. It specifies "Properties" and "Attributes" as synonyms of fields. In C#, for example, these are 3 very distinct class members.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class_diagram#Members
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A Parameter is what appears in the definition of the method. An Argument is the instance or primitives passed to the method during runtime.

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