What type of argument is dictated by its name rather than its position?

• A. Positional argument
• B. Keyword argument
• C. Variable argument
• D. Default argument

Answer: (B)

A keyword argument is one that is specified by explicitly naming the parameter when calling a function, thus dictating its value by name instead of relying on its position in the argument list. This approach enhances code readability and makes it easier to understand what each argument is intended to represent.

For example, in a function definition like def display_info(name, age):, calling display_info(age=30, name="Alice") utilizes keyword arguments. In this case, the caller can specify the parameters in any order, as long as they associate the values with the correct names. This flexibility helps avoid errors that might occur if the order of positional arguments is incorrectly remembered or misinterpreted.

Positional arguments require the caller to place arguments in the same order as defined by the function. Variable arguments allow a function to accept an arbitrary number of arguments, which are not dictated by names. Default arguments are values specified within the function definition that are used if no corresponding argument is provided during the function call, but they still do not offer the same flexibility provided by keyword arguments.