hash character
hash character
(character)Common names: number sign; pound; pound sign; hash; sharp;crunch; hex; INTERCAL: mesh. Rare: grid; crosshatch;octothorpe; flash; ITU-T: square, pig-pen; tictactoe;scratchmark; thud; thump; splat.
The pronunciation of "#" as "pound" is common in the US but abad idea; Commonwealth Hackish has its own, rather moreapposite use of "pound sign" (confusingly, on Britishkeyboards the pound graphic happens to replace "#"; thusBritishers sometimes call "#" on a US-ASCII keyboard "pound",compounding the American error). The US usage derives from anold-fashioned commercial practice of using a "#" suffix to tagpound weights on bills of lading. The character is usuallypronounced "hash" outside the US.
The name "octothorpe" was made up by a Bell Labs supervisor,Don Macpherson.
Octothorpe story.