- constant or coefficient of a variable in an equation or a system of equations. For example, in a cost-volume formula of the form y = a + bx, the constant a and the slope b are parameters. The total fixed costs, the unit variable cost, and the unit selling price are examples of parameters.
- numerical characteristic of a population computed using every element in the population. For example, the mean and the mode are parameters of a population.
measure used to describe a population, such as the number of rental units in a given city. Parameters are known for certain. If the number is based on a sample rather than actual count, it is called an estimate.
a symbol that will be replaced in a procedure, function, or method by supplied values when the procedure is called. For example, if max is a function, then in max(x, y), x and y are the parameters.
variable value; in a computer program, the parameters are changed each time the program is run. List rental selection parameters describe the criteria for selection applicable to each list rental. For example, the parameters may be set to select hotlines with male names and incomes over $50,000, or the parameters may be set for an nth-name selection.
