Final answer:
Yes, the names of the actual parameters can differ from those of the formal parameters and what matters is the order in which they appear when the function is called.
Step-by-step explanation:
Yes, the variable names of the actual parameters (also known as arguments) can be different from the variable names of the formal parameters. When a function is called, the actual parameters are the values or expressions you pass in, while formal parameters are the variables in the function definition that receive the actual parameters.
For example, consider a function addition(a, b), where a and b are formal parameters. When calling this function, you could use different names, like via a call addition(x, y), where x and y are the actual parameters, representing the values to add together.
The important aspect is the position or order of the arguments, which must match the expected sequence defined by the formal parameters. The compiler or interpreter handles mapping the values of actual parameters to the corresponding formal parameters by their position in the call.
For example, let's say we have a function with a formal parameter called 'x'. When we call this function and pass an actual parameter, we can use any variable name we want as long as it matches the data type expected by the formal parameter.
For instance, we can call the function like this: functionName(7); or functionName(y); as long as 'y' is a variable of the same data type as 'x'.