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Invoke vs Call a Function – Learn the Difference

"Invoke a function" and "Call a function" are popular programming terms. But what exactly do they mean? Let's find out.

What Does "Invoke a Function" Mean in Programming?​

"Invoke a function" means executing a function to retrieve its value.

How to invoke a function​

We use the function's name and an invocator (()) to invoke a function.

Here's the syntax:

functionName();

Examples​

Below are examples of how to invoke a function.

How to invoke a function without an argument​

// Define a function:
function multiplyNumbers() {
  return 3 * 100;
}

// Invoke the multiplyNumbers function:
multiplyNumbers();

// The invocation above will return: 300

The snippet above invoked the multiplyNumbers function without passing any argument to its parameters.

How to invoke a function with two arguments​

// Define a function:
function multiplyNumbers(a, b) {
  return a * b;
}

// Invoke the multiplyNumbers function:
multiplyNumbers(3, 100);

// The invocation above will return: 300

The snippet above invoked the multiplyNumbers function while passing two arguments (3 and 100) to its parameters (a and b).

What Does "Call a Function" Mean in Programming?​

"Calling a function" means to call for a function without retrieving its value.

How to call a function​

We use the function's name only to call a function.

Here's the syntax:

functionName;

Example​

// Define a function:
function multiplyNumbers(a, b) {
  return a * b;
}

// Call the multiplyNumbers function:
multiplyNumbers;

// The call above will return:
ƒ multiplyNumbers(a, b) {
  return a * b;
}

The snippet above used the function's name (multiplyNumbers) to call the function without retrieving its value.

Overview​

"Function invocation" invokes a value from a function. But "function calling" calls for the function.