A function prototype in C, Perl or C++ is a declaration of a function that omits the function body but does specify the function's return type, name, arity and argument types. While a function definition specifies what a function does, a function prototype can be thought of as specifying its interface.
In a prototype, argument names are optional, however, the type is necessary along with all modifiers (e.g. if it is a pointer or a const argument).
Famous quotes containing the words function and/or prototype:
““... The state’s one function is to give.
The bud must bloom till blowsy blown
Its petals loosen and are strown;
And that’s a fate it can’t evade
Unless ‘twould rather wilt than fade.””
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
“The Ancient Mariner seizes the guest at the wedding feast and will not let go until he has told all his story: the prototype of the bore.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)