Proper name for characters 1

[razalas]

I know the proper names for the following characters:

~ tilde
# octothorpe
^ caret
& ampersand
* asterisk
() parentheses
{} braces
[] brackets
/\ slash
| vertigule

but are there proper names for the following other than the common names formed by describing how they are used?

@ "at" sign
$ "dollar" sign
% "percent" sign
+ "plus" sign
- "minus" sign
= "equals" sign
_ underline

And, I am comfortable with the common names of the following, but maybe they have their own proper names?

! exclamation mark
? question mark

Just curious.

TIA

"Code what you mean,
and mean what you code!
But by all means post your code!"

Razalas

 

[Dimandja]

Oh, and if you haven't done so, you need to isolate those two children from the healthy group. You however need not/should not isolate them together -- redundant phrase.

 

[KenCunningham]

I warned you about that can of worms above didn't I? Now look at the mess we're in. I agree (I think) that bracket and bracket together are in essence the same thing. However, I think the additional together gives a stronger sense that the items/children/whatever should be regarded as a distinct group. Just a personal preference I guess.

 

[BillyRayPreachersSon]

To throw a spanner in the works, CharMap, that oh-so-definitive guide to character names, lists the following:

( Left Parenthesis
) Right Parenthesis
{ Left Curly Bracket
} Right Curly Bracket
[ Left Square Bracket
] Right Square Bracket

Which begs the question - why don't they all end in "parenthesis"?

If } is a right curly bracket, then a right non-curly bracket would theoretically be ), right? Or should } be a right curly parenthesis?

*groan* now my head hurts ;o)

Dan

 

[Dimandja]

KenCunningham,

Not a can of worms at all! Only a healthy discussion. I have no idea what mess you are talking about. Constantly predicting doom will bring doom. There is no need for that.

Back to our 'not a can of worms' discussion. I agree that you should use what you prefer. Some people even like saying "deja vu all over again"; which I dislike, but I am comfortable with disagreement.

 

[Thadeus]

The reason I asked for an explanation from Ken is that using a phrase "bracket together" has nothing to do with the parenthesis symbol... (BTW, thank you Ken)

In fact in the example Ken provided, "We can bracket (or include) together football and tennis as two essentially professional sports played by millions of amateurs," the only "brackets" used have nothing to do with football or tennis.

So what tells you that the bracket of "bracket together" is not a square-end bracket?

~Thadeus

 

[CajunCenturion]

I think we are now confusing the verb to bracket, with the symbols ( [ ] ) in question. I'm still interested in what the OED says about brackets, parenthesis, and related symbology.

Good Luck
--------------
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[ESquared]

And perhaps a brace of quail really is a curly brace!

-------------------------------------
A sacrifice is harder when no one knows you've made it.

 

[rosieb]

CajunCenturion
OED:
Bracket - each of a pair of marks () [] {}used to enclose words or figures.

Parenthesis - 1 a a word, clause, or sentance inserted as an explanation or afterthought into a passsage which is gramatically complete without it, and usu. marked off by brackets or dashes or commas. b (in pl.) a pair of round brackets used for this.

Brace - a connecting mark { or } used in printing.

Square brackets - brackets of the form [].

No entry for curly brackets.

Unfortunately they don't offer a definition of symbols.

Unusually, their useage of the word brackets above is a little imprecise. I can read it two different ways.

A. If they are saying that any kind of bracket can enclose a parenthesis, then that suggests () are round brackets or parentheses - but only if in pairs.

B. If they mean that()are the type of brackets that enclose a parenthesis, then they seem to be using the word brackets to describe (). The word round in the second definition would then appear to be added for clarity.



Rosie
"Never express yourself more clearly than you think" (Niels Bohr)

 

[CajunCenturion]

Thank you rosieb - Good information.

Good Luck
--------------
To get the most from your Tek-Tips experience, please read FAQ181-2886
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[ChrisHunt]

Just to through another pair of brackets into the works, the greater-than and less-than symbols, when used as brackets (for example in HTML code) are called "angle brackets". At least, they are in IT circles.

-- Chris Hunt

http://www.mcgonagall-online.org.uk

http://www.napitalia.org.uk

http://www.leicesteryha.org.uk

 

[KenCunningham]

Dimandja, I was using 'mess' in the sense that we are unlikely to come to any substantive conclusion on this. I'm not usually a doom-merchant (indeed my rose-tinted spectacles are rarely off) and I fully agree that all discussion is healthy, or in Churchill's words "Jaw Jaw is better than War War".

Rosieb - thanks for the info.