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OP
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I recalled a discussion or two over the past year referring to the hash key or octothorpe (ie #). Didn't have the time to browse all the Board's archives on the matter, but was wondering if the following were resolved......
#1 WHY/WHEN did the hash symbol (call it what you will!) get called in as a substitute for the word "number"?
#3 Thought of another application for this symbol and was wondering if there are more? The one I recalled is its use as a symbol for "mesh" - as used in laboratories to describe the aperture size of a screen (sieve)
#2 Whilst on the subject, is the abbreviation "No." short for the Latin "numero"? Speaking to a work colleague the other day who has a military background - uses "Nr." as the abbreviation.
stales
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Computer guys can explain what I am going to say better than me...
I just know that the sign # is called NumberSign in UNICODE - which is, I believe, the standard attribution of numbers -from 0 to 255 or from1 to 256? to simbols to print .
P.S. 256 is a power of two, so it corresponds to the number of possible numbers - written in base two - with less than 8 digits.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Whilst on the subject, is the abbreviation "No." short for the Latin "numero"?
Well, the Latin is numerus, at least in the nominative singular. The Middle English was nombre so that may be a likelier source for the abbreviation no.
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the sign # is called NumberSign in UNICODE - which is, I believe, the standard attribution of numbers -from 0 to 255 or from1 to 256? to simbols to print
UNICODE is a rather than the standard, but it is a very important and widely used one. (The lovely thing about standards is that there are so many to choose from) It used to be a 16 bit standard allowing 65536 characters, but now has some extensions. It covers most current written languages and typographical symbols such as chess games, weather forcasts, etc., allowing most text to be unambiguously transmitted between systems.
From 0-127 UNICODE is identical to the ASCII designations. My Unicode manual (admitedly a little old now) gives 0023 (hexadecimal) as NUMBER SIGN and = pound sign as a subsidary usage. Note that this is a different character from the similar symbols of mathematical "Equal and Parallel to" at 22D5 and "Viewdata Square" at 2317. There is also a "Fullwidth" version of the Number sign at FF03 for use in Japan.
I'd completely forgotten I knew all this!
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old hand
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OP
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I'm thinking the hash symbol for "number" goes back much further than the computer era. My father is 75, with a background in mathematics and engineering - and he's always used it.
stales
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Was it also mentioned that # is used to represent fracture (eg # L NoF)?
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#3 Thought of another application for this symbol and was wondering if there are more? The one I recalled is its use as a symbol for "mesh" - as used in laboratories to describe the aperture size of a screen (sieve)
My wife, who works in the medical field, was taught to use the # as an abbreviation for "pounds," when noting weight measurements. It is commonly referred to as the "pound sign" here in the US, but I wonder if the name came from the practice of using it as the abbreviation, or if it was used for the abbreviation because of the name.
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OP
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"# L NoF"
Do explain - please!!
stales
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Carpal Tunnel
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Congrats, stales! (BTW: "Do --- please"? Such excitement!  )
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# L NoF = fractured left neck of femur.
What is commonly, though incorrectly, referred to as a broken hip.
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