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Important note

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• The parameter passing mechanism and the place used to pass parameters
  • Fact:

    These are 2 independent/orthogonal issues when you pass parameters: How a function passes a parameters: Pass the parameter by value Pass the parameter by reference Where (= what memory space) does the function uses to pass the parameter: We can use register (if the method is a leaf function) We can use the program stack

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  • You can combine any of these 2 orthogonal features:

    You can pass a parameter by value using a register (provided the method is a leaf function) by: Putting the value of a variable in a register         You can pass a parameter by reference using a register (provided the method is a leaf function) by: Putting the address of a variable in a register         You can pass a parameter by value using the program stack by: Pushing the value of a variable on the stack         You can pass a parameter by reference using the program stack by: Pushing the address of a variable on the stack