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).
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