Since it is now Friday, how about / is a solidus, aka a slash \ is a reverse solidus, aka a backslash # is an octhothrope, aka a hash mark or pound sign. Not to be confused with "pound sterling" sign. ! is a "bang" - I learned that long ago in college on a Xerox Sigma 7 system. #! is normally pronounced "shebang" in UNIX. I guess a verbal slurring of "hash bang" together.
When speaking, I often say "square bracket" and "curly brace" (open or close) just because people often don't know a brace from a bracket from a parenthesis. And let's not even talk about carets ^. And what is the proper word for that PL/1 "not" sign ¬ ? I never heard of "broken brackets" for < and >. Just "less than" and "greater than". -- John McKown Systems Engineer IV IT Administrative Services Group HealthMarkets® 9151 Boulevard 26 . N. Richland Hills . TX 76010 (817) 255-3225 phone . john.mck...@healthmarkets.com . www.HealthMarkets.com Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message may contain confidential or proprietary information. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message. HealthMarkets® is the brand name for products underwritten and issued by the insurance subsidiaries of HealthMarkets, Inc. -The Chesapeake Life Insurance Company®, Mid-West National Life Insurance Company of TennesseeSM and The MEGA Life and Health Insurance Company.SM > -----Original Message----- > From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List > [mailto:IBM-MAIN@bama.ua.edu] On Behalf Of Ted MacNEIL > Sent: Thursday, November 17, 2011 4:36 PM > To: IBM-MAIN@bama.ua.edu > Subject: Re: USS > > >Brackets? Oh, you mean parentheses: ( ) > >Brackets are: [ ] (not "square brackets", just "brackets") > >Braces are: { } (not "curly braces", just "braces") > > Another common use for obscure terms. > > When I was in high school English brackets was an acceptable term. > When I took FORTRAN brackets was an acceptable term. > When I took C square brackets and curly (brackets or braces) > were acceptable terms. > My profs used them. > Why, after almost 40 years, why do we have more retroactve > corrections? > > Like that other TLA, that shall remain nameless, even though > it was used for almost 15 years before some self-appointed > pedants started taking upon themselves to preach. > - > Ted MacNEIL > eamacn...@yahoo.ca > Twitter: @TedMacNEIL > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, > send email to lists...@bama.ua.edu with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO > Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@bama.ua.edu with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
