args

Args is a shorthand term used in programming to refer to the values supplied to a function or to a program at run time. The exact meaning depends on context: arguments may be the inputs to a function’s parameters, or items provided on a command line when starting a program. In many languages, args are collected into a single structure such as a list, array, or tuple for processing.

Function arguments: Functions declare parameters that receive values. Languages differ in how they handle optional or additional arguments. Python uses *args to capture extra positional arguments as a tuple, and **kwargs for extra keyword arguments. JavaScript uses rest parameters (...args) to collect remaining arguments into an array. Java supports varargs with a type followed by ellipsis (e.g., int... args), making a single array of values. C provides variadic functions via ... with support from macros like va_start and va_arg.

Command-line arguments: Programs on many systems receive arguments via an argv or similar array, with argc indicating how many arguments were supplied. The first element, argv[0], is typically the program name. Command-line parsers interpret flags and options such as -h or --help, and may support short and long forms, key-value pairs, or positional arguments. Libraries across languages offer utilities to validate, normalize, and convert these inputs.

Design and practices: Validate inputs, handle errors gracefully, and document which arguments are required versus optional. Distinguish between parameters (the function’s signature) and arguments (the supplied values). The term args is a conventional label for the collection of inputs, but actual handling depends on language and libraries.