What's the Difference Between 'print' and 'return' in Code?

Differences Between "print" and "return" in Programming

In programming, "print" and "return" serve distinct purposes.

Print:

• Outputs the specified value to the standard output (typically the console or terminal).
• Does not impact the flow of execution or return any value to the caller.
• Example: print(my_variable) prints the value of my_variable to the console.

Return:

• Terminates the execution of the function or method at its invocation point.
• Returns a value back to the caller, which can be stored in a variable or used further in the code.
• Example: return my_variable returns the value of my_variable to the caller.

To illustrate the difference, consider the following Python function:

def my_function(param1):
    print(param1)
    return param1

If we call this function with the argument 42, it will print "42" to the console and also return the value "42" to the caller. The value returned by my_function() can then be assigned to a variable or used in subsequent computations.

In contrast, if we remove the return statement and rely solely on print, the function will still print "42" to the console, but it will not return any value. Hence, there is no usable output from the function.

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