external variable
nounUK /ɪkˈstɜː.nəl ˈveə.ri.ə.bəl/
US /ɪkˈstɝː.nəl ˈver.i.ə.bəl/
A value from outside a program that the program can use.
The program reads the temperature from an external variable set by the weather station.
OTHER MEANINGS
2. In programming, a variable declared outside any function so many parts of the code can see it.
Because the counter was an external variable, every function could change it.
3. In statistics, a factor from outside the model that may affect the results.
The researchers treated income as an external variable in their study.
4. In mathematics, a quantity whose value comes from outside the equation being studied.
In this formula, x is an external variable supplied by the experimenter.