Re: fortran character set

In article <fb43sq$k15$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Paul van Delst
<Paul.vanDelst@xxxxxxxx> writes:

Richard Maine wrote:
Phillip Helbig---remove CLOTHES to reply
<helbig@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

In article <1188271167.470173@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, harper@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
(John Harper) writes:

The problem is all the non-dollar currency symbols. Many Americans call
the hash mark or octothorp a pound sign, but it has nothing to do with
currency. If one is is referring to currency, a real pound sign is a
script upper case L with a horizontal line across its middle, in
countries that use or formerly used the pound, e.g. UK, Ireland,
Australia, NZ.
But isn't this just because the pound sign (£) and the number sign (#)
are often on the same key and depending on the environment either one or
the other might be printed? Alternatively, the ASCII code might be
interpreted in a non-standard variant as the pound sign, so if I send
you £ and say it is pound, you might see # and call it the pound sign.

No, that is not why. Those usages predate computers. I didn't bother
trying to track it down, but I'm (moderately) sure that the octothorpe
was called a pound sign when I was a kid. Not that I quite predate
computers, but certainly "ordinary" people wouldn't have been much
influenced by such computer conventions then.

OK. Perhaps it's the other way around: perhaps those two signs share a
key since they are both "pound".

Growing up in West Oz post decimalisation, "#" was always called a hash. Muscially
inclined folk called it a sharp. It wasn't until I came to the US when I heard it called a
pound sign....

....or had to deal with lbs and oz and gallons and feet and yards and miles etc.

Octothorpe is totally over the top! :o)

I grew up in the States and always heard it referred to as a "number
sign". "Hash mark" seems the more common term in computer lingo. In
German it is the "Gartenzaun" ("garden fence"). While it is similar to
a musical sharp sign, maybe that is a different sign. There are quite a
few signs which look similar but, historically, are distinct.

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: What do YOU call the # sign?
    ... the British "pound sign," the crossed-L for UK currency. ... "octothorpe" was coined in the 1960s by Bell Labs when that key was ... included with touch tone phones. ... service to "press the square key". ...
    (alt.usage.english)
  • Re: fortran character set
    ... If one is is referring to currency, a real pound sign is a ... influenced by such computer conventions then. ... Octothorpe is totally over the top! ...
    (comp.lang.fortran)
  • Re: What do YOU call the # sign?
    ... the word "octothorpe" for ... I started wondering what AUE contributors prefer ... Does this mean that when the voice system says "press pound", ... It's how I learned to note pounds in recipes and on shopping lists, ...
    (alt.usage.english)
  • Re: pronunciation of "#".
    ... hash, pound, number, ... octothorpe, gate, ... ... What peeked at my curiosity was also wondering ...
    (alt.usage.english)
  • Re: fortran character set
    ... Richard Maine wrote: ... the hash mark or octothorp a pound sign, but it has nothing to do with ... Alternatively, the ASCII code might be interpreted in a non-standard variant as the pound sign, so if I send ... by then mainframe computers were around but pretty much predated any personal computers. ...
    (comp.lang.fortran)