Newsgroups: sci.lang
From: andre@shappski.demon.co.uk (Andre Shapps)
Path: cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu!das-news2.harvard.edu!news2.near.net!news.mathworks.com!news.duke.edu!convex!cs.utexas.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!pipex!peernews.demon.co.uk!shappski.demon.co.uk!andre
Subject: Re: @ character
References: <1995Feb12.105904.320@kuc01.kuniv.edu.kw>> <3hleh0$t8p@agate.berkeley.edu> <1995Feb14.122047.328@kuc01.kuniv.edu.kw> <1995Feb21.121908.11041@onionsnatcorp.ox.ac.uk>
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Date: Tue, 21 Feb 1995 23:40:39 +0000
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In article: <1995Feb21.121908.11041@onionsnatcorp.ox.ac.uk>  gmb@natcorp.ox.ac.uk 
(Glynis Baguley) writes:
> 
> In article <1995Feb14.122047.328@kuc01.kuniv.edu.kw> tim@kuc01.kuniv.edu.kw 
writes:
> > 
> > Correct me if I'm wrong on these, and add what you can from other languages:
> > 
> > ~	tilde				@	commercial "at"
> > #	number sign			$	dollar sign
> > %	per cent mark (why not sign?)	^	caret
> > &	ampersand (<"and per se and")	*	asterisk
> > ()	parentheses			+	plus sign
> > -	minus sign, hyphen, en-dash	=	equals sign
> > []	brackets, square brackets	{}	braces, curly braces
> > |	pipe (but before computers?)	\	backslash
> > /	slash, stroke			<>	angle brackets
> > 
> > Colloquially, I've heard "#" called a tic-tac-toe sign, "*" called a star,
> > etc.  (I confess to saying "star-dot-star" instead of "asterisk-period-
> > asterisk" out of sheer laziness.)  Does the computer generation call 
> > a caret a "Control sign" or "to-the-power-of sign"?
> 
> I've heard ~ called a twiddle, 
> # hash and sharp, 
> () brackets or round brackets, 
> / oblique (in non-computing circles; more formal than stroke and more
> British than slash) and solidus, 
> @ `the hat sign' (from not understanding `the at sign'), 
> {} curly brackets. 
> 
> Then there's
> 
> 	! 
> 
> I call it an exclamation mark, but have heard bang and shriek
> (nearly deafened me).
> 
> -- 
>  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> {      Glynis.Baguley@oucs.ox.ac.uk     }
> {  Oxford University Computing Services }
>  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> 
> 

In computer terms, "#" is called hash, though when you ring British Telecom and 
ask them for information about dis/enabling things like call waiting, they direct 
you to the "gate" button. In any case, I'm pretty sure it's a misunderstanding of 
the word "hatch", which sort of sounds more likely. I have also seen "^" being 
used in computer terms to mean a logical "XOR".

"(" and ")" are sometimes known as "bra" and "ket" respectively.
-- 
Andre Shapps


