Aha -- you have to use the :var syntax on the begin_src line, not the
params-in-parens syntax on the name line.  Your version works:

#+name: example-block
#+begin_src sh :var input=""
  echo "input is $input"
#+end_src

but this doesn't:

#+name: example-block(input="")
#+begin_src sh
  echo "input is $input"
#+end_src

The doc seems to say it should work the same, in
http://orgmode.org/manual/var.html (see "Alternate Argument Syntax").



On Mon, Apr 1, 2013 at 9:45 PM, Eric Schulte <schulte.eric@gmail.com> wrote:

> Eric Abrahamsen <eric@ericabrahamsen.net> writes:
>
> > Gary Oberbrunner <garyo@oberbrunner.com> writes:
> >
> >> It seems like you can define "procedures" in org-mode and call them
> >> from elsewhere, with args.
> >> But I'm not sure how well-defined that process is; the documentation
> >> is not completely perfect yet I think. Here's one thing I'm trying
> >> that seems not to work.
> >>
> >> I define a "procedure" as a named ref called recorddate with two args,
> >> ver and order. The idea is I could later call that with different
> >> values of those args.
> >>
> >> #+NAME: recorddate(order="desc")
> >> #+BEGIN_SRC sql :exports none :colnames no :results scalar
> >> select Event.CreatedAt from Event join MachineInfo as MI on
> >> Event.MachineInfoId=MI.Id
> >> where Event.CreatedAt is not NULL order by CreatedAt $order limit 1;
> >> #+END_SRC sql
> >>
> >> (BTW, I really like how $ vars are substituted into SQL. Nice.) But
> >> when I try to call it like this:
> >>
> >> * earliest record is call_recorddate(ver="'.'", order="asc")
> >> or like this:
> >> #+CALL: recorddate(ver="'.'", order="asc")
> >>
> >> and I try to export as LaTeX (or anything), I get
> >> org-babel-ref-resolve: Reference 'recorddate' not found in this buffer
> >>
> >> Is this supposed to work?
> >
>
> Yes, your example should work.  From the "Evaluating code blocks"
> section of the Org-mode manual.
>
> ,----
> |    It is also possible to evaluate named code blocks from anywhere in an
> | Org mode buffer or an Org mode table.  Live code blocks located in the
> | current Org mode buffer or in the "Library of Babel" (see *note Library
> | of Babel::) can be executed.  Named code blocks can be executed with a
> | separate '#+CALL:' line or inline within a block of text.
> `----
>
> There is no need to load code blocks in the same buffer into the library
> of babel.
>
> This example works for me evaluating code blocks in the same buffer
> using call lines.
>
>
>
> When I export this to e.g., html I get the following.
>
>
> ** **
>   Call Example
>
> echo "input is $input"
>
>  Here's a simple call using a named argument.
>
> input is foo
>
>  It also works with a positional argument.
>
> input is bar
>
>  Date: 2013-04-01T19:39-0600
>
> Author:
>
> Org <http://orgmode.org> version 7.9.3f with Emacs<http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/>version 24
> Validate XHTML 1.0 <http://validator.w3.org/check?uri=referer>
>
>
> The call lines are replaced with their results as part of the export
> process.
>
> If the above doesn't work for you, then I imagine something is wrong
> with your install.
>
> --
> Eric Schulte
> http://cs.unm.edu/~eschulte
>
>


-- 
Gary