ndallen@uunet.uu.net> (06/24/90)
If you refer to the symbol on the # key as a "tic-tac-toe sign", you may not come across as terribly sophisticated, but you will be understood.
kam@dlogics.COM (Kevin Mitchell) (06/25/90)
In PostScript the name of the character is /numbersign. Kevin A. Mitchell (312) 266-4485 Datalogics, Inc Internet: kam@dlogics.UUCP 441 W. Huron UUCP: ..!uunet!dlogics!kam Chicago, IL 60610 FAX: (312) 266-4473
rpw3%rigden.wpd@sgi.com (Rob Warnock) (06/26/90)
In article <9204@accuvax.nwu.edu> erik@naggum.uu.no (Erik Naggum) writes: | 5# means "five lbs (pounds)" | This has later been confirmed by several good dictionaries and | reference works (read: theory), but I've never seen in it practice. It is often seen in the U.S. in the trucking/shipping/hauling environments. It's quite common for packages or crates to get their weight in pounds marked on the side with crayon or chalk in the "<number>#" form, usually as the package is accepted into the shipper's system. (Many forms of shipping are weight-based.) Rob Warnock, MS-9U/510 rpw3@sgi.com rpw3@pei.com Silicon Graphics, Inc. (415)335-1673 Protocol Engines, Inc. 2011 N. Shoreline Blvd. Mountain View, CA 94039-7311
hardarso@weiss.cs.unc.edu (Kari Hardarson) (06/27/90)
I want to collectively thank everyone that set me straight on the american definition of the pound. I am much the wiser now. Kari Hardarson 217 Jackson Circle Chapel Hill, NC 27514
bobk@ncar.ucar.edu (Robert Kinne) (06/27/90)
In article <9204@accuvax.nwu.edu> erik@naggum.uu.no (Erik Naggum) writes: >Prelude: "Octothorp" (sans final `e') is listed in (Merriam) Webster's >Third New Int'l Dictionary with etymology "octo + thorp, of unknown >origin; from the eight points on its circumference". "Thorp(e)" is >archaic for "village, hamlet", but that can't be it. I have a lurking suspicion that the derivation may be from a proper name. Thorpe is a rather common family name in the UK and the US. Perhaps at some earlier era a telephone engineer named Thorpe combined the octo (eight) with his name to designate the symbol in a way which avoids the confusion of some of the other usages which vary from country to country. Anyone have any knowledge, ideas, or folklore along these lines? >I've heard that the `#' symbol's meaning is context dependent: > #5 means "number five" > 5# means "five lbs (pounds)" The latter is American usage. The same symbol is also referred to as 'sharp', based on its usage in music (actually the symbol for sharp is a bit skewed, but the octothorpe is a good approximation, as well as can be done with ASCII or typewriters). Most Americans will still refer to # as 'pound sign'. In the US, of course, pound is a unit of force in the British Gravitational System of units (now archaic except in the US). Now everyone should be confused!
jem@hpisod2.cup.hp.com (Jim McCauley) (06/28/90)
In the index of `The TeXbook', Donald Knuth calls the <#> character "hash mark." Jim McCauley jem@hpulpcu3.hp.com (408) 447-4993 Learning Products Engineer Hewlett Packard Company, General Systems Division MS 48SO, 19447 Pruneridge Avenue, Cupertino CA 95014 Disclaimer: My opinions are my own, not my employer's. From: ptownson@cs.bu.edu (Patrick Townson) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Expires: References: Sender: Followup-To: Distribution: world Organization: Boston University Keywords:
leichter@lrw.com (Jerry Leichter) (06/30/90)
Several people noted (ahem) that # and the musical sharp sign were "the same". This is not quite true. The musical sharp sign is normally smaller and has its four lines at an angle to the vertical and horizontal - often almost a 45 degree angle. Even more noticable is that the sharp is a superscript - it's not placed quite as high as, say, a superscript 2 for "squared" - for one thing, it's bigger - but it is definitely well above the baseline. Obviously, different fonts will choose slightly different representations for each character, so there may be some overlap. However, the character is never raised (much) above the baseline when used for "number" or "pounds", but is always raised when used for "sharp". BTW, yet another name for "#" is "hash mark". Knuth uses that in The TeXbook, for example. Both "number sign" and "pound sign" appear in the index marked "see hash mark". (On the other hand, so does "sharp sign". However, an example in the book defines a \sharp macro as a hash mark - but a hash mark raised above the baseline by .4 ex, .4 times the nominal height of an "x" character in the font.) -- Jerry
ellisndh@uunet.uu.net (Dell H. Ellison) (07/03/90)
In article <9236@accuvax.nwu.edu>, motcid!king@uunet.uu.net (Steven King) writes: > In article <9204@accuvax.nwu.edu> erik@naggum.uu.no (Erik Naggum) writes: > > #5 means "number five" > > 5# means "five lbs (pounds)" > >This has later been confirmed by several good dictionaries and > >reference works (read: theory), but I've never seen in it practice. I thought everyone used 'lbs.' I guess I was wrong. > I prefer calling it the "sharp" sign. It doesn't get confused with > the British pound, and is much less of a mouthful than "octothorpe". > That last sounds like it should be on the menu at a seafood > restaurant. I've found that most people (at least in the states) call it a pound sign. But I like to call it a Number Sign, because it's hard to confuse it with something else. (Many people are not familiar with music terminology.) ..