For instance, Python uses a double equals sign (“=”) as a comparison operator since the single equals sign is used as an assignment operator. Programming languages that don’t use the equals symbol as a statement of equality have other methods of handling this equality comparison. Languages like Perl, Python, and C continue to use the equals sign as an assignment operator, while languages like Eiffel, Asa, and APL use the equals sign to indicate equivalency. Examples of both types of use for the equals sign can be found in modern programming languages. Other computer languages may use the equals sign with the traditional “equivalency” meaning. Photo: John Sauter via Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain In computer programming languages in general, the equals sign doesn’t exactly mean two things are equivalent, instead, it functions as an assignment operator, setting the value of some statement to a following statement. FORTRAN is believed to be the first computer language to make use of the equals sign, with the sign being included in revisions to FORTRAN in 1957. However, the equals sign is often used in other fields, such as in computer programming. In math, using the equals sign asserts that two statements or variables are equivalent to one another. Beyond that, Rercorde helped introduce the world at large to concepts of data manipulation and quantification, with theories and instructions on applying mathematics to various domains such as navigation, commerce, land surveying, and astronomy. Recorde’s equals sign and other contributions to mathematical theory and operators gave computer scientists a ubiquitous and universally recognized symbol to assign values and assert a quality. It is arguable that Recorde laid the foundation for the discipline of computer science, as computer science is at its core about processing, creating, and collecting data. So the more equations you know, the more you can converse with the cosmos.” - Neil DeGrasse Tyson A vertical equals sign, rather than a horizontal equals sign, may have been used throughout the 1600s, with the now universally used horizontal equal sign becoming standardized over the course of the 1700s. This gave Recorde’s equals sign some extra influence, as when combined with + and – the equals sign could easily be used to assert mathematical equations that took much longer to write out. However, Recorde had introduced English speakers to the now-famous German symbols for subtraction and addition: “+” and “-”. One reason that Recorde’s symbol may have been slow to catch on was that in the 16th century Latin still heavily influenced communication, and the term “aequalis” was frequently just shortened to “Ae” or “oe” if an abbreviation was required. While Recorde’s new equals sign succinctly implied equality between two values, it wasn’t widely adopted until much later. Photo: By Robert Recorde –, Public Domain, Quote, quotation mark, or inverted commas.A representation of the first known equation, equivalent to 14x + 15 = 71. Open brace, squiggly brackets, or curly bracket.Ĭlose brace, squiggly brackets, or curly bracket.įorward slash, solidus, virgule, whack, and mathematical division symbol. Octothorpe, number, pound, sharp, or hash.Īsterisk, mathematical multiplication symbol, and sometimes called a star. Information about the F13 through F24 keyboard keys.Īlternate key (PC only Mac users have an Option key).Īcute, back quote, grave, grave accent, left quote, open quote, or a push.Įxclamation mark, exclamation point, or arobase, asperand, at, or at symbol. PC keyboards also have a Menu key that looks like a cursor pointing to a menu. PC keyboards have a Windows key that looks like a four-pane, wavy window.Īpple Mac computers have a Command with a symbol resembling a cloverleaf. Listing of non-alphanumeric keys Key/symbol Clicking any of the keys opens a new page with full details. You can hover your mouse cursor over any key to see a description. Example of a keyboardīelow is a close-up image of a QWERTY computer keyboard with each of the keys selectable. For information on keyboard shortcut key combinations (e.g., Ctrl+ S or Alt+ F4), see our computer keyboard shortcut keys page.
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