Q: what's this --> '#'
Mark Klenk
>We call it [#] 'hash' in the UK. Not sure why though.
Some people here call it that.
Others call it 'pound.'
---
mkl...@impact.xerox.com (Mark Klenk)
Orion Westfall
Peter Strickler
I know that this question is not directly related to 'C', but I
guess everybody doing something with c or c++ knows about it...
The question is: what's the name of the '#' sign ?? Wherever I read
about it, it only says something like 'press # to...' - and what if I
want to explain that to somebody over the phone??
The key on a telephone on the other side of the '0' is an asterisk '*',
but I can't find anybody who could tell me more about the '#'...
Perhaps somebody around here ????
Regards,
Peter
--
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Peter Strickler pet...@hws.unizh.ch
University of Zuerich - Switzerland
Public PGP (2.6ui) key available... Please note new phone: 01 257 28 47
Anil Kumar Vijendran
: In the USA, '#' is usually called a "pound sign" because it is sometimes used
: in groceries as an abbreviation for one pound dry weight, as in
: "Bananas 3# $1" (bananas three pounds for one dollar). This would be rather
: confusing in other parts of the world, as the phrase "pound sign" generally
: refers to the UK pound sterling sign. I understand that the official name of
: the '#' is "octothorp". The octo part is because there are eight little
: bristles sticking out from the central rectangle.
I call '#' "hash". Not equals would fit the bill too.
Michael Oltz
Dave Postill
// In the USA, '#' is usually called a "pound sign" because it is sometimes used
// in groceries as an abbreviation for one pound dry weight, as in
// "Bananas 3# $1" (bananas three pounds for one dollar). This would be rather
// confusing in other parts of the world, as the phrase "pound sign" generally
// refers to the UK pound sterling sign. I understand that the official name of
// the '#' is "octothorp". The octo part is because there are eight little
// bristles sticking out from the central rectangle.
We call it 'hash' in the UK. Not sure why though.
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Joshua Bleier
> <... some background info deleted...>
>The question is: what's the name of the '#' sign ??
It's commonly called the "pound" key.
>...
>The key on a telephone on the other side of the '0' is an asterisk '*',
>but I can't find anybody who could tell me more about the '#'...
You mean you've never used an Aspen or Octel Voicemail system, where
the usability-tested female phone guru says
"Please record your message; when you have finished recording, press pound
for more options..."?
If she's ever indicted for murder, you're probably the only guy who could
be on the jury (stated tongue-in-cheek with apologies to all the "OJ"
jokesters that this is 'borrowed' from)... ;-)
Josh
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Software Project Lead Voice: (415) 988-4461
Tencor Instruments FAX: (415) 969-6371
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ellster
> // the '#' is "octothorp". The octo part is because there are eight little
> // bristles sticking out from the central rectangle.
OK, so what's the "horp" part mean?
Elliott
-Dragon-
Peter Strickler <pet...@hws.unizh.ch> wrote:
| Hello!
|
| I know that this question is not directly related to 'C', but I
| guess everybody doing something with c or c++ knows about it...
|
| The question is: what's the name of the '#' sign ?? Wherever I read
| about it, it only says something like 'press # to...' - and what if I
| want to explain that to somebody over the phone??
| The key on a telephone on the other side of the '0' is an asterisk '*',
| but I can't find anybody who could tell me more about the '#'...
Here's what a lot (not all) of programmers call certain symbols:
# pound
! bang
* star
@ at
| pipe
This doesn't mean that these are their only names. But as far as I know
they are the most common.
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Draconian Software & Consulting | Software Installation
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James Kanze US/ESC 60/3/164 #71425
pet...@hws.unizh.ch (Peter Strickler) writes:
|> The question is: what's the name of the '#' sign ?? Wherever I read
|> about it, it only says something like 'press # to...' - and what if I
|> want to explain that to somebody over the phone??
|> The key on a telephone on the other side of the '0' is an asterisk '*',
|> but I can't find anybody who could tell me more about the '#'...
In English, I've generally heard it called hash. But I have alway
liked the literal translation of the French diesse = sharp (the
musical sign). I stopped using sharp, however, when I realized that
nobody else understood me:-(.
--
James Kanze email: ka...@lts.sel.alcatel.de
GABI Software, Sarl., 8 rue des Francs Bourgeois, F-67000 Strasbourg, France
Conseils en informatique industrielle --
-- Beratung in industrieller Datenverarbeitung
Peter Strickler
: Hello!
:
: I know that this question is not directly related to modems, but I
: guess everybody doing something with modems knows about it...
: ...
Ok, thanks a lot to all those who answered either via mail or directly
here in this newsgroup. The proposed names for '#' are pretty much the
same as the ones already in this thread...
I'll get back to the ones who've sent me some mail directly.
Thanks a lot,
Danny Yates
|> Here's what a lot (not all) of programmers call certain symbols:
|>
|> # pound
|> ! bang
|> * star
|> @ at
|> | pipe
|>
|> This doesn't mean that these are their only names. But as far as I know
|> they are the most common.
I would agree with that, except that I, as do most of my colleagues,
call the # symbol 'hash'. But then we are English, and as someone
pointed out 'pound' is used for our currency symbol (which doesn't
exist on this damned keyboard!)
It is also called 'gate' sometimes. But this is mainly in telecoms
circles.
D.
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Danny Yates, BT CEC, pp 6/3, 151 Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BA, UK
Email: Danny...@lssec.bt.co.uk Phone: +44 171 728 7697
or: cs9...@brunel.ac.uk Fax: +44 171 387 6743
----------------------------------------------------------------------
SPolyak
> The key on a telephone on the other side of the '0' is an asterisk '*',
> but I can't find anybody who could tell me more about the '#'...
>
> Perhaps somebody around here ????
>
> Regards,
>
> Peter
It is a Tic-Tac-Toe board.<g>
Steve.
Ian J Hogg
>Michael Oltz (md...@cornell.edu) wrote:
>// In the USA, '#' is usually called a "pound sign" because it is sometimes used
>// in groceries as an abbreviation for one pound dry weight, as in
>// "Bananas 3# $1" (bananas three pounds for one dollar). This would be rather
>// confusing in other parts of the world, as the phrase "pound sign" generally
>// refers to the UK pound sterling sign. I understand that the official name of
>// the '#' is "octothorp". The octo part is because there are eight little
>// bristles sticking out from the central rectangle.
>
>We call it 'hash' in the UK. Not sure why though.
>
Because a) it looks kinda like hash browns or b) it looks like the hash
marks in your underwear.
--
===============================================================================
Ian Hogg ian...@cs.umn.edu
(612) 424-6332
pra...@cpva.saic.com
>
> It's commonly called the "pound" key.
>
to me.
Don Pratt
Rod Burman
England it was always "hash" (presumably since it looks
like hash browns :-), here in the US it's "pound" (although
lb is almost always used for pound and # is more used for
number). But I have heard "sharp" aswell, from the musical
notation, may be we could have that as the ISO standard name? :-)
Rod
<This space un-intentionally left blank>
Christian Henry
-Dragon- <paul-jose...@csufresno.edu> wrote:
>Here's what a lot (not all) of programmers call certain symbols:
>
> # pound
> ! bang
> * star
> @ at
> | pipe
>
>This doesn't mean that these are their only names. But as far as I know
>they are the most common.
Around this part of the world, these are the most common names (from what
I've been able to pick up, at least):
# - number sign (IMHO, "pound" is somewhat of a confusing name;
whenever I hear of the pound symbol, I tend to think the
person is referring to the English pound symbol)
! - exclamation point (I'd imagine that "bang" usually is used
by those persons who know about UUCP addressing. ;-) )
* - star or asterisk. Literary types often refer to it as the
latter, not the former.
@ - at
| - pipe (I'm wondering if there's a more "technical" name for
this symbol, similar to "#" being called "octothorpe")
~ - tilde (although, for some reason, many people also seem to
know what you're talking about if you call it "that squiggly
thing above certain letters in certain foreign languages"
<grin>)
' - apostrophe (why on earth do many people _insist_ that _this_
is a quotation mark?!)
" - quotation mark (...and why do those same people insist that
this is a double quotation mark?!)
^ - caret (or circumflex, if you speak French, from what I
recall)
& - ampersand (sp?); or "and" symbol
Now, what _I_ would like to know is, what are the _proper_ names for "<" and
">"? Somehow, referring to them as "less than" and "greater than" symbols
seems just a bit, well, "off". <grin>
Christian Henry
James Kanze US/ESC 60/3/164 #71425 <ka...@us-es.sel.de> wrote:
>In English, I've generally heard it called hash. But I have alway
>liked the literal translation of the French diesse = sharp (the
>musical sign). I stopped using sharp, however, when I realized that
>nobody else understood me:-(.
I'd imagine that anybody who reads or writes music would understand you.
;-)
Ross Ridge
> * - star or asterisk. Literary types often refer to it as the
> latter, not the former.
That would depend on it's position relative to the other characters
on the line.
> @ - at
At the rate of, or commerical at.
> | - pipe (I'm wondering if there's a more "technical" name for
> this symbol, similar to "#" being called "octothorpe")
Vertical bar (or line). (Octothorpe is *not* a technical name for
'#'.)
> ' - apostrophe (why on earth do many people _insist_ that _this_
> is a quotation mark?!)
Because it is one. eg: "Quoth the raven, 'nevermore.'". (Or in the
UK: 'Quoth the raven, "nevermore."')
> " - quotation mark (...and why do those same people insist that
> this is a double quotation mark?!)
Because it's two quotation marks.
>Now, what _I_ would like to know is, what are the _proper_ names for "<" and
>">"?
Less than and greater than.
>Somehow, referring to them as "less than" and "greater than" symbols
>seems just a bit, well, "off".
It's not.
Ross Ridge
Eric Smith
> # - number sign (IMHO, "pound" is somewhat of a confusing name;
> whenever I hear of the pound symbol, I tend to think the
> person is referring to the English pound symbol)
The most experienced programmers, those who have been programming for
ten or more years, tend to refer to it as a hash mark, for some reason.
Maybe it takes less energy to say it that way.
> ! - exclamation point (I'd imagine that "bang" usually is used
> by those persons who know about UUCP addressing. ;-) )
It's been bang since at least 1974. That was when I first encountered the
name. No telling how many years before that. Maybe ever since the big bang.
> | - pipe (I'm wondering if there's a more "technical" name for
> this symbol, similar to "#" being called "octothorpe")
I remember it being called a vertical bar a long time ago, but I think
it may have been solid with no gap in the middle, and then got changed
to have the gap. I think the word pipe probably originated from the
usage as a symbol in Unix to invoke a Unix pipe, which is a "pipeline"
between processes. I vaguely remember that the "||" operator, which is
"logical or" in C/C++, was "concatenate strings" in PL/1, and that the
PL/1 book referred to the '|' as a vertical bar, but I don't remember if
it had the gap in the middle or was a solid vertical bar.
>Now, what _I_ would like to know is, what are the _proper_ names for "<" and
>">"? Somehow, referring to them as "less than" and "greater than" symbols
>seems just a bit, well, "off". <grin>
They are often called left and right angle brackets. A neater name would be
arrowhead. <--- (but I don't know anyone who calls them that)
Craig Cockburn
mkl...@impact.xerox.com "Mark Klenk" writes:
> Dave Postill wrote:
> >We call it [#] 'hash' in the UK. Not sure why though.
>
> Some people here call it that.
> Others call it 'pound.'
>
I think it would be a lot easier if more Americans were encouraged to
call it "hash". I have both the # and the pound (sterling) symbol on
my keyboard. It it useful to be able to call them two different things.
British Telecom calls it "hash"
--
Craig Cockburn, Axios Systems, Eskbank, Edinburgh, Scotland Tel: 0131-663 3854
Help desk, incident management, config management, asset management software.
James Kanze US/ESC 60/3/164 #71425
Henry) writes:
Not if their native language is German, and they have only encountered
musical texts in German. Or maybe they are just getting even with
me. I have never been able to figure out the German for sharp and
flat. (The word seems to change according to the note it is applied
to. Very un-German.)
James Kanze US/ESC 60/3/164 #71425
Henry) writes:
|> In article <CvHpA...@zimmer.CSUFresno.EDU>,
|> -Dragon- <paul-jose...@csufresno.edu> wrote:
|> >Here's what a lot (not all) of programmers call certain symbols:
|> >
|> > # pound
|> > ! bang
|> > * star
|> > @ at
|> > | pipe
|> >
|> >This doesn't mean that these are their only names. But as far as I know
|> >they are the most common.
|> Around this part of the world, these are the most common names (from what
|> I've been able to pick up, at least):
|> # - number sign (IMHO, "pound" is somewhat of a confusing name;
|> whenever I hear of the pound symbol, I tend to think the
|> person is referring to the English pound symbol)
I'd never heard pound until this thread started. Hash seems the most
widely understood in Germany (in English), and sharp in France (where
it is a litteral translation of the French name).
|> ! - exclamation point (I'd imagine that "bang" usually is used
|> by those persons who know about UUCP addressing. ;-) )
Or by people who heard someone else use it, and found that
"exclamation point" is just too long.
|> * - star or asterisk. Literary types often refer to it as the
|> latter, not the former.
Again, "asterisk" is just too long.
|> @ - at
Except by the French (and sometimes the Germans): commercial at.
|> | - pipe (I'm wondering if there's a more "technical" name for
|> this symbol, similar to "#" being called "octothorpe")
Vertical bar?
|> ~ - tilde (although, for some reason, many people also seem to
|> know what you're talking about if you call it "that squiggly
|> thing above certain letters in certain foreign languages"
|> <grin>)
|> ' - apostrophe (why on earth do many people _insist_ that _this_
|> is a quotation mark?!)
Because in C/C++ (and in the Unix shells, and many other computer
applications) it is used to quote.
|> " - quotation mark (...and why do those same people insist that
|> this is a double quotation mark?!)
Because the ' is a single quote... And in Unix, at least ` is a "back
quote". (The last is horrible, since unlike the others, it doesn't
quote. But that is the usage.)
I think that anyone who would say "quotation mark" will probably make
the distinction you make. But I've never heard "quotation mark", just
"quote(s)".
|> ^ - caret (or circumflex, if you speak French, from what I
|> recall)
I've never heard caret, but circumflex is too long. Usually "hat" by
the British people here, and "roof" by the Germans (guess what it is
called in German). Circumflex, despite the length, by the French.
|> & - ampersand (sp?); or "and" symbol
Just "and".
|> Now, what _I_ would like to know is, what are the _proper_ names for "<" and
|> ">"? Somehow, referring to them as "less than" and "greater than" symbols
|> seems just a bit, well, "off". <grin>
I like the way the Germans handle this. Everything with a left and
right form that can bracket is called Klammer. Then you add a
modifier:
{...} geschweifte Klammern
[...] eckige Klammern
(...) (runde) Klammern
<...> spitzige Klammern
At least some English people do the same:
{...} curly braces
[...] square braces
(...) round braces
<...> pointy braces
Still, I've only heard such usage when the <...> where being used for
bracketing (as in #include <...>); as comparison operators, they are
always greater than or less than.
Dave Postill
// In article <34aq21$6...@reality.UUCP> hen...@reality.UUCP (Christian
// Henry) writes:
// |> In article <CvHpA...@zimmer.CSUFresno.EDU>,
// |> -Dragon- <paul-jose...@csufresno.edu> wrote:
// |> >Here's what a lot (not all) of programmers call certain symbols:
// |> >
// |> > # pound
// |> > ! bang
Anybody else heard 'pling' for this? I don't know this is derived from either
[I use 'bang' myself].
// |> > * star
// |> > @ at
// |> > | pipe
[snip]
Matthias Blume
<...> spitzige Klammern
Close, but this way it sounds funny (to my ears -- maybe that's
different in other areas of Germany). The word ``spitzig'' doesn't
exist in german, the correct base form is ``spitz''. Therefore, I'd
say:
spitze Klammern
Not that I want to be over-subtle (``spitzfindig'') here... :)
--
-Matthias
Kevin Lentin
> In article <34aq21$6...@reality.UUCP>, hen...@reality.UUCP (Christian Henry) writes:
> |> # - number sign (IMHO, "pound" is somewhat of a confusing name;
> |> whenever I hear of the pound symbol, I tend to think the
> |> person is referring to the English pound symbol)
> Or 'hash'.
The pound comes fomr the fact that the pound sign is on that key on British
keyboards (or so I am led to believe). I have seen many keyboards with both
characters on the 3. It's also often referred to as the number sign.
> |> ! - exclamation point (I'd imagine that "bang" usually is used
> |> by those persons who know about UUCP addressing. ;-) )
> I've also heard it called 'pling' (the mind boggles...)
I often call it pling. Comes from my BBC upbringing. The manual calls it
that I think. The file executaed at boot up on a disk is called pling-boot
(!BOOT). It's also used to 'poke' memory locations. The ? is called query
as it does the 'peek'.
> |> ^ - caret (or circumflex, if you speak French, from what I
> |> recall)
> I've also heard this called things like 'hat'!
C programmers might use XOR. South Africans may call it a 'kappie'
(pronounced cuppy). I usually use hat.
> |> Now, what _I_ would like to know is, what are the _proper_ names for "<" and
> |> ">"? Somehow, referring to them as "less than" and "greater than" symbols
> |> seems just a bit, well, "off". <grin>
> Ah, now... IMHO:
> () - parentheses (sp?)
> {} - braces
Also curly braces/brackets.
> What's this then: `
> UNIX gurus may call it 'backtick'. What do you call it?
Backquote mostly.
My question is, how do most people read this:
cout << endl;
I often (to my own disgust :-) say: see-out less-than-less-than end-el
I know officially it's the insertion operator. But it's also left-shift
which is much easier to say. I've considered 'from' and 'to' for << and >>
eg: cout << x cout from x
cin >> x cin to x
--
[==================================================================]
[ Kevin Lentin |___/~\__/~\___/~~~~\__/~\__/~\_| ]
[ kev...@bruce.cs.monash.edu.au |___/~\/~\_____/~\______/~\/~\__| ]
[ Macintrash: 'Just say NO!' |___/~\__/~\___/~~~~\____/~~\___| ]
[==================================================================]
Danny Yates
|> whenever I hear of the pound symbol, I tend to think the
|> person is referring to the English pound symbol)
Or 'hash'.
|> ! - exclamation point (I'd imagine that "bang" usually is used
|> by those persons who know about UUCP addressing. ;-) )
I've also heard it called 'pling' (the mind boggles...)
|> * - star or asterisk. Literary types often refer to it as the
|> latter, not the former.
I've known "C" coders to call it pointer, for obvious "C"-like reasons.
|> ^ - caret (or circumflex, if you speak French, from what I
|> recall)
I've also heard this called things like 'hat'!
|> & - ampersand (sp?); or "and" symbol
|>
|> Now, what _I_ would like to know is, what are the _proper_ names for "<" and
|> ">"? Somehow, referring to them as "less than" and "greater than" symbols
|> seems just a bit, well, "off". <grin>
Ah, now... IMHO:
() - parentheses (sp?)
{} - braces
<> - brackets (popularly 'angle(d) brackets')
[] - square brackets
However, I wouldn't tend to use 'brackets' in general use, as people
will normally think I mean parentheses.
What's this then: `
UNIX gurus may call it 'backtick'. What do you call it?
Mmm... This could start a riot :) (Smiley - in case you didn't know!)
Peter Strickler
Err... I got so much mail and answers through the newsgroup during the
past days that it simply got impossible to answer them all. I did mail
a collective answer to the folks who answered first - but I'd have to
be writing mails for about 32 hours per day to answer what has come
around here since then.
Actually I did not expect to start such a discussion but I guess it's
quite fun to see the numerous opinions on a ruather unimportant matter
like this... ;-)
Thanks again to all &
I'll come back here whenever I find another symbol of which I ignore
the name... ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-)
Best,
har...@ulogic.com
>pet...@hws.unizh.ch (Peter Strickler) writes:
>
>|> The question is: what's the name of the '#' sign ?? Wherever I read
>|> about it, it only says something like 'press # to...' - and what if I
>|> want to explain that to somebody over the phone??
>|> The key on a telephone on the other side of the '0' is an asterisk '*',
>|> but I can't find anybody who could tell me more about the '#'...
>
>In English, I've generally heard it called hash. But I have alway
>liked the literal translation of the French diesse = sharp (the
>musical sign). I stopped using sharp, however, when I realized that
>nobody else understood me:-(.
_I_ understand you, James. It's always the sharp to me. The pound
is that funny L-shaped thing. Hash is what you do for faster lookups.
Hasn't anybody else taken any music???
-Richard Hartman
har...@uLogic.COM
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Extensive studies have shown that 93% of all statistics are meaningless.
Mark Hollomon
>In article <KANZE.94S...@slsvhdt.us-es.sel.de> ka...@us-es.sel.de
(James Kanze US/ESC 60/3/164 #71425) writes:
>>In article <1994Sep1.1...@rzu-news.unizh.ch>
>>pet...@hws.unizh.ch (Peter Strickler) writes:
>>
>>|> The question is: what's the name of the '#' sign ?? Wherever I read
>>|> about it, it only says something like 'press # to...' - and what if I
>>|> want to explain that to somebody over the phone??
>>|> The key on a telephone on the other side of the '0' is an asterisk '*',
>>|> but I can't find anybody who could tell me more about the '#'...
>>
>>In English, I've generally heard it called hash. But I have alway
>>liked the literal translation of the French diesse = sharp (the
>>musical sign). I stopped using sharp, however, when I realized that
>>nobody else understood me:-(.
>
>_I_ understand you, James. It's always the sharp to me. The pound
>is that funny L-shaped thing. Hash is what you do for faster lookups.
>
In telephony the '#' is called octothorpe (don't ask, I don't know why).
Some of the custom calling features (normally ativated by '#' followed by one
or digits) are called extensive octothorpe feature. <Shrug>.
---- Mark
Keith Pomakis
Danny Yates <Danny...@lssec.bt.co.uk> wrote:
> In article <34aq21$6...@reality.UUCP>, hen...@reality.UUCP (Christian Henry) writes:
> I've also heard it called 'pling' (the mind boggles...)
>
>> * - star or asterisk. Literary types often refer to it as the
>> latter, not the former.
>
> I've known "C" coders to call it pointer, for obvious "C"-like reasons.
Coming from a Commodore 64 background, I've often heard of "*" being
referred to as the "splat" character. This is because it is used in a 1541
disk drive directory listing to indicate a "splat" (corrupt) file.
I tend to call it "star", since it's the most common one-syllable name for
it. For me,
! bang
@ at
# hash
$ dollar sign
% percent
^ carat
& ampersand (I find "and" too ambiguous with the english language)
* star
~ tilde (or "squiggle")
| bar (or "pipe" when talking Unix command-line)
{ open-brace (or "open-squigly", or "open-curly")
open-square (or "open-bracket")
( open-round (or "open parenthesis")
< less-than
. dot
, comma
/ slash
\ backslash
? question mark
' single quote
" double quote
` backquote
; semicolon
: colon
_ underscore
+ plus
- minus
= equal sign
The problem of naming these things become more interesting when dictating
C/C++ code, where things like "=" and "==" must be differentiated.
.------------------------------+--------------------------------------------.
| Keith Pomakis | Don't take life too seriously. |
| kppo...@jeeves.uwaterloo.ca | After all, you'll never make it out alive. |
+------------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| WWW home page: "http://csclub.uwaterloo.ca/u/kppomaki/" |
`---------------------------------------------------------------------------'
Will Morse
I like to call # a sharp because my shell scripts always start with
#!, which I call sharp-bang or ------------shebang----------- :-)
Will Morse
Mark Hollomon
Will Morse <wi...@Starbase.NeoSoft.COM> wrote:
>>
>>In telephony the '#' is called octothorpe (don't ask, I don't know why).
>>Some of the custom calling features (normally ativated by '#' followed by one
>>or digits) are called extensive octothorpe feature. <Shrug>.
>>
>>---- Mark
>
>I like to call # a sharp because my shell scripts always start with
>#!, which I call sharp-bang or ------------shebang----------- :-)
>
>Will Morse
My scripts usually go "shebang" some lines AFTER the interpreter statement.
---- Mark Hollomon
Mike Carpenter
>> latter, not the former.
I read that this was call a Nathan Hale since he only had one. (American history reference) ;)
Don't worry It always takes a while to get :)
--
Later...
Mike Carpenter
Contractor for IBM
Michael F Murphy
>pet...@hws.unizh.ch (Peter Strickler) writes:
>|> The question is: what's the name of the '#' sign ?? Wherever I read
reason "!" is called "bang"!!! Go figure.
Mike
--
Michael Murphy: The insane man in the CS 115 lab!
a.k.a. merf...@expert.cc.purdue.edu
Frohwalt Egerer
>|> # - number sign (IMHO, "pound" is somewhat of a confusing name;
>|> whenever I hear of the pound symbol, I tend to think the
>|> person is referring to the English pound symbol)
>I'd never heard pound until this thread started. Hash seems the most
>widely understood in Germany (in English), and sharp in France (where
>it is a litteral translation of the French name).
I share your expierience never hearing 'pound', but I don't think
I ever heard the word 'hash' over here in Germany. I use to call
that sign 'number sign' or 'Gartenzaun' (German for garden fence).
>|> ~ - tilde (although, for some reason, many people also seem to
>|> know what you're talking about if you call it "that squiggly
>|> thing above certain letters in certain foreign languages"
>|> <grin>)
Although most 'computer folks' I know call it 'tilde' many
non-technical people seem to call it 'Schlange' (snake) ... :-)
>I like the way the Germans handle this. Everything with a left and
>right form that can bracket is called Klammer. Then you add a
>modifier:
> {...} geschweifte Klammern
> [...] eckige Klammern
> (...) (runde) Klammern
> <...> spitzige Klammern
ObC++: Object Orientend Language. One abstract 'brace' class and four
specialized child classes deriving from it ... ;-) ;-)
Froh
P.S.: Who volunteers for mainting the 'how do I prononce that symbol?' FAQ?
--
Frohwalt Egerer Drausnickstr. 36 91052 Erlangen Germany
<http://www.franken.de/users/devnull/froh>
fr...@devnull.franken.de
Colaflaeschchen, Ich will Colaflaeschchen.
-- Henning Schmiedehausen (Isel-Meeting)
Frank Pitt
> > by those persons who know about UUCP addressing. ;-) )
>
> It's been bang since at least 1974. That was when I first encountered the
> name. No telling how many years before that. Maybe ever since the big bang.
It's been exclamation mark for a lot longer than that, back to the
seventeenth century I believe
Frank Pitt
> |> recall)
>
> I've never heard caret, but circumflex is too long. Usually "hat" by
It's caret to publishers, circumflex to language students
> |> & - ampersand (sp?); or "and" symbol
>
> Just "and".
Once again it's ampersand to publishers and anyone with literary training,
"and" is just a contraction of that.
Stuart MacMartin
There's also, as one phone message said, "The key to the right
of the 0"
--
Stuart MacMartin s...@unicad.com UniCAD Canada Ltd. Ottawa
Stuart MacMartin
Years ago, when we had products on the Apple ][+, one customer
phoned up and said he had a snowflake on his screen.
(Anyone remember what the monitor prompt was? You guessed it: "*"!)
I always thought that ! was called bang because of the noise the
teletypes made when typing this character.
Stuart
Keith Bennett
> is a quotation mark?!)
If I remember my English correctly, the single quote can be used within a
regular double quote to signify a quotation cited by the quotation (or,
in other words, a quotation within a quotation).
For example, if Joe Shmo wrote a book about Abraham Lincoln, and it
included the text:
when he said "four score and seven years ago"...
If you then quoted that, you would say:
According to Joe Shmo in his book "Lincoln's Life", "when he said 'four
score and seven years ago'..."
- Keith
--
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Keith Bennett Bennett Business Solutions, Inc.
C++/C Software Development 1852 Middlebridge Drive
kben...@cpcug.org Silver Spring, MD USA 20906
Mark S. Levin
I believe this is called a "pound" sign.
Mark
Andrew Davison
>Here's what a lot (not all) of programmers call certain symbols:
> # pound
> ! bang
> * star
> @ at
> | pipe
>This doesn't mean that these are their only names. But as far as I know
>they are the most common.
My $0.02...
In the UK '@' is usually referred to as an 'aerole' and pronounced
ear'ole , probably because it looks like one. Took me ages to figure out
what they were talking about.
'!' a bang or a pling.
'{' a brace or curly-bracket
'[' a bracket or square-bracket
'~' a tilde or just as squiggle for non-computer types.
Andrew Davison
> & - ampersand (sp?); or "and" symbol
I once read that '&' was invented by someone called Amper as an
abreviation for 'and' and hence was referred to as
"Amper's and" which eventually got shortened to ampersand.
Craig Cockburn
b20...@accesspt.north.net "Mark S. Levin" writes:
> : The question is: what's the name of the '#' sign ?? Wherever I read
>
> I believe this is called a "pound" sign.
>
It just seems to be some people in the US who call it that. There are
multiple names for it in the US and elsewhere. Pound is a very bad name
for it as it gets confused with the pound (currency) symbol. Could those
who call it pound please consider some other name, such as "hash".
Craig
James Kanze US/ESC 60/3/164 #71425
(Frohwalt Egerer) writes:
|> ka...@us-es.sel.de (James Kanze US/ESC 60/3/164 #71425) writes:
|> >|> # - number sign (IMHO, "pound" is somewhat of a confusing name;
|> >|> whenever I hear of the pound symbol, I tend to think the
|> >|> person is referring to the English pound symbol)
|> >I'd never heard pound until this thread started. Hash seems the most
|> >widely understood in Germany (in English), and sharp in France (where
|> >it is a litteral translation of the French name).
|> I share your expierience never hearing 'pound', but I don't think
|> I ever heard the word 'hash' over here in Germany. I use to call
|> that sign 'number sign' or 'Gartenzaun' (German for garden fence).
All of the shops I've worked in in Germany have had a fair number of
English contractors, so I suppose that the Germans there just adapted
to what the Brits were using.
On the other hand, in German, I've always heard it called the
Gitterzeichen (picket fence sign), rather then the Gartenzaun.
--
James Kanze Tel.: (+33) 88 14 49 00 email: ka...@lts.sel.alcatel.de
GABI Software, Sarl., 8 rue des Francs-Bourgeois, F-67000 Strasbourg, France
Warwick Allison
>I once read that '&' was invented by someone called Amper as an
>abreviation for 'and' and hence was referred to as
>"Amper's and" which eventually got shortened to ampersand.
Giggle.
It means "& per se and", read aloud "and per se and" -> "ampersand".
--
Warwick (today's slayer of urban legends)
--
_-_|\ war...@cs.uq.oz.au /
/ * <-- Computer Science Department, / WIT SPACE TO LET
\_.-._/ University of Queensland, /
v Brisbane, Australia. /
Kevin Lentin
> It just seems to be some people in the US who call it that. There are
> multiple names for it in the US and elsewhere. Pound is a very bad name
> for it as it gets confused with the pound (currency) symbol. Could those
> who call it pound please consider some other name, such as "hash".
The reason for that is that is many cases it _IS_ the same character. Was
it the APPLE II that had a switch under the keyboard that changed how that
character displayed? And on the BBC Micro, depending on which character set
you used, you got a different character.
Craig Cockburn
and...@sfe.com.au "Andrew Davison" writes:
> In the UK '@' is usually referred to as an 'aerole' and pronounced
> ear'ole , probably because it looks like one. Took me ages to figure out
> what they were talking about.
>
Usually? This is the first time I've ever heard "aerole". Everyone I've met
calls it "at"
Roman Stawski
>Path: nation!canis!gsiserv!julienas!EU.net!howland.reston.ans.net!swrinde!sgiblab!munnari.oz.au!yarrina.connect.com.au!warrane.connect.com.au!sfe.com.au!sfe.com.au!not-for-mail
>From: and...@sfe.com.au (Andrew Davison)
>Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++
>Subject: Re: Q: what's this --> '#'
>Date: 12 Sep 1994 13:38:06 +1000
>Organization: Sydney Futures Exchange
>Lines: 8
>Message-ID: <350ieu$7...@entropy.sfe.com.au>
>References: <1994Sep1.1...@rzu-news.unizh.ch> <CvHpA...@zimmer.CSUFresno.EDU> <34aq21$6...@reality.UUCP>
>NNTP-Posting-Host: entropy.sfe.com.au
>hen...@reality.UUCP (Christian Henry) writes:
I always understood that the & character was originally tagged on to
the end of the alphabet and which was read:
"..., ex, wye, zed, and per se 'and'"
This then got scrunched to ampersand.
It originally evolved from a cursive form of the latin 'Et', so I don't
believe it could have been 'invented'.
Don Bennett
Piers Haken <pie...@microsoft.com> wrote:
>Mark S. Levin (b20...@accesspt.north.net) wrote:
>: : The question is: what's the name of the '#' sign ?? Wherever I read
>: I believe this is called a "pound" sign.
>
>'pound' is that when printed on an epson-compatible printer without
>setting the code-page correctly, it would appear as an 'L' (pound sterling).
>
>Talking of silly names for symbols, what about:
>
> ! pling
> $ string (from BBC BASIC)
> < whacka (as in <>!* - whacka-whacka-bang-splat, or something)
>
>Piers.
I call it a 'hash' sign. Don't know why, always did, always will.
don
--
"The human race is a remarkable creature, one with great potential, and I
hope that Star Trek has helped to show us what we can be if we believe
in ourself and our abilities." -Gene Roddenberry (1921-1991)
Don Bennett (dben...@cs.mun.ca, d...@engr.mun.ca) TIP#318
Piers Haken
: I believe this is called a "pound" sign.
No, as I remember the reason that this symbol has been given the name
Alan Batongbacal
>: : The question is: what's the name of the '#' sign ?? Wherever I read
>
>: I believe this is called a "pound" sign.
>
>No, as I remember the reason that this symbol has been given the name
>'pound' is that when printed on an epson-compatible printer without
>setting the code-page correctly, it would appear as an 'L' (pound sterling).
The reason for this dates further back than you think. In ancient times
there were machines called typewriters...
alan
--
Alan L. Batongbacal Recognition Research, Inc.
ala...@access.rrinc.com.blacksburg.va.us 1872 Pratt Drive, Suite 1200
(703)231-6700 (v) / (703)231-3568 (f) Blacksburg, VA 24060
Ell
"The pound sign (#) is the stringizing operator when it is applied to a
reference to a macro's parameter in the definition of the expansion text.
When you use this operator, the argument passed to the macro is treated as
if it were a quoted string inside the macro expansion." (S 84)
"The token pasting operator (##) is used within a macro definition to join
two tokens to form a single one. Token pasting is helpful for operating
on variables whose names share some distinct pattern. The two pound signs
must appear betweeen two strings of text, one of which is typically a
macro parameter." (S 84-5)
S - Steve Shustak, Variations in C, MS Press 1989.
Elliott
John Wendt
>Mark S. Levin (b20...@accesspt.north.net) wrote:
>: : The question is: what's the name of the '#' sign ?? Wherever I read
>
>: I believe this is called a "pound" sign.
>
>No, as I remember the reason that this symbol has been given the name
>'pound' is that when printed on an epson-compatible printer without
>setting the code-page correctly, it would appear as an 'L' (pound sterling).
>
The use of # to means "pounds" ( "10 pounds" written as 10# ) is far older than
Epson printers. In the 1970's I worked for a small company that had an
IBM System 32, with interlocking applications written in RPG II. Every so
often something would get hosed and we would have to call our IBM Systems
Engineer to bail us out. She would invoke system routines that started
with $ and #, and once told me that when things got rough they used a lot of
"dollar magic" and "pound-sign please". (I.e. $magic and #please.)
========================================================================
John M. Wendt | Ah, but a man's reach should
Software Engineer | exceed his grasp,
Service Test Equipment Engineering | Else what's a metaphor?
Delco Electronics Corp., Kokomo IN, USA |
| -- Marshall McCluhan
(Standard Disclaimers Apply)
Magnus Bodin
>
>In <CxL36...@microsoft.com>, pie...@microsoft.com (Piers Haken) writes:
>>Mark S. Levin (b20...@accesspt.north.net) wrote:
>>: : The question is: what's the name of the '#' sign ?? Wherever I read
>>
>>: I believe this is called a "pound" sign.
>>
>>No, as I remember the reason that this symbol has been given the name
>>'pound' is that when printed on an epson-compatible printer without
>>setting the code-page correctly, it would appear as an 'L' (pound sterling).
>>
>
>The use of # to means "pounds" ( "10 pounds" written as 10# ) is far older than
>Epson printers. In the 1970's I worked for a small company that had an
>IBM System 32, with interlocking applications written in RPG II. Every so
>often something would get hosed and we would have to call our IBM Systems
>Engineer to bail us out. She would invoke system routines that started
>with $ and #, and once told me that when things got rough they used a lot of
>"dollar magic" and "pound-sign please". (I.e. $magic and #please.)
Hash. Please continue this discussion in alt.folklore.computers. There is a
thread over there which is returning now and then.