What does the return statement do in a function?

The return statement in a function serves the purpose of both ending the function’s execution and passing control back to the calling function. When a return statement is encountered, it indicates that the function has completed its task. At this point, the function returns a value to the place where it was called (if a value is specified), and the execution of the function stops immediately.

By returning control to the calling function, it facilitates the flow of the program by allowing the main program or the calling function to continue processing after the function call. If no value is specified in the return statement, it will still end the function's execution but will return None in Python, or a similar equivalent in other programming languages.

The other choices do not fully capture these functionalities. Merely stating that the return statement ends the function's execution overlooks the aspect of transferring control, while stating that it ends the entire program is incorrect, as the return statement only affects the specific function context, not the overall program execution. Thus, both aspects of the return statement being addressed are crucial for understanding its role in programming.