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There are two types of ____ parameters: value parameters and reference parameters.?
A. actual
B. formal
C. active
D. passive
the test says the answer is A. but in the book it shows the answer as being B. so I'm really confused >_<. I'm pretty positive its B. though but if I put B. I'll get it wrong -_-
Both are correct, but in this context the answer is A because you are talking about the types of all possible parameters. Formal parameters, at least according to the warnings I get, are the parameters of a specific function. For example, you could say that the open function has a const char * formal parameter. When you declare a new function prototype, it probably has formal parameters, and so on.
I'd say this is a trick question and the answer is dependent on reading comprehension. If you were me, this would confirm that learning in America is basically a lost cause, since they would prefer to ask this instead of a better question. But anyway, move on with your work.
Interestingly, if we use the definitions given by Bjarne Stroustrup's C++ Glossary:
argument - a value passed to a function or a template. In the case of templates, an argument is often a type.
parameter - a variable declared in a function or templates for representing an argument. Also called a formal argument. Similarly, for templates.
I have always interpreted "actual parameter/argument" to mean "argument" and "formal parameter/argument" to mean "parameter", in the context of Stroustrup's glossary.
Frankly, this is an ambiguous question. I consider both A and B to be correct, even in the context of "the types of all possible parameters". One can argue that formal parameters are specific to a function, but a counter argument is that actual parameters are specific to a function call.