Symbols

2021 Oct 10

In our lifes on the internet, we see alot of characters that we don't normally see. Like @, #, &, [], {}, \, ;, and |. But what are thier names, what are their origins, and why do they look like they do? I'm going to try and find out!
Let's start with what they are used for most of the time on the web.

@ is used to mean at. It can also be used to define a username(@user), or even emails(person@emailprovider.topleveldomain)
The hashtag, #, is used for tagging posts to topics(#NumberOneProgrammer). It is also sometimes used to define a number(#1). It's also used in CSS to define IDs, and in urls to scroll down to a certain part of the page(#theMan).
& is a symbol used to mean "and"(the dog & the cat). It is also used in urls to be an addition to the search(?q=look%20mom%20no%hands%21&images)
Square brackets([]), are used to define a list in the most widely used programming language on the web, JavaScript(["the dog", "the cat", "the bird", "the plane"]). They can also be used in the middle of quotes to give context("Have a nice day!" [The mayor] shouted)
Curly brackets({}) are used to define a JavaScript object( {person: "Jim", car: "JavaScript car :)"} )
backslash() is used in markdown, and JavaScript strings, to define a character that should remain itself, such as # showing up as a # instead of a heading.
Semi-collins(;) are used to define the end of a command in lots of programming languages, like JavaScript(alert("hello world");), PHP(echo "hello world";)
|, or Vertical bar, has no real use on the web.
~, or tilde, also, doesn't find much use
Grave accents() are used to define a multi-lined JavaScript string(this has
2 lines)</li></ol>Those are what they are, but what about their original meanings?<ol><li>The At-Sign(@) is used to mean at(they're @ their house), it could also be used for a price(@10 pence)</li><li>#(pound-sign, hashtag, number-sign, octothorpe, sharp-sign), it's used to mean lb(10 #), define numbers(#10), define a tag in social media(#NumberOneCoder), to define the musical notes that are sharp, or used on telephones to do... something.</li><li>Ampersands(&) are used as &, that's it(doges & golden retrievers).</li><li>[Square Brackets] are used as a way to add context to the middle of a sentence, like "he ate the sausage", but we don't know who "he" is, and what kind of sausage he is eating, so it should be "[the young boy] ate the [cheese filled] sausage"</li><li>{Curly Brackets} don't get much use. They would be used for {defining words, lines, sentences as being in a group}.</li><li>|s are used to define absolute value, like |-2| = 2. It can also be used as a replacement for periods, and forward slashed</li><li>The backslash doesn't get much real use in writing. In math, it is used to represent the set difference(which I won't really explain), such as a\n</li><li>The Semicolon is used to seperate ideas in a sentence filled with commas, add seperation between an explaination; and a seperator(,) in a list, and merge 2 sentences together without a compound(and, but, or). Such as "I am so happy for them, and I am proud" & "I am so happy; I am proud." act the same. If you'd like a better explaination, I'd suggest you to check out <a href="https://youtu.be/th-zyfvwDdI">How to use a semicolon</a> by Ted-Ed, it's a great whatch, and it's presented in an interesting and fun style.</li><li>Grave accents() are used in some words from other languages, but not much in English. However it can be used in songs and poems to indicate that silent letters aren't silent.
Tildes(~) can be used in a sentence to mean about, for example, ~10.