The underscore is a symbol used in programming, file names, and URLs to replace spaces. It was developed as a virtual space and is used to concatenate string names and create human-readable variable names. Underlining has a history in typewriters and can be used to create gaps in forms.
The underscore is a special symbol used in computer programming languages, file names, and URLs on the Internet. It is mainly used in place of the space key because many formats do not accept a white space within the variable or name. The underscore was developed as an acceptable virtual space that could be used instead. This symbol is also known as an underscore, understrike, or low line.
As programming languages evolved, there was a dilemma of how to represent character strings in an understandable way without using spaces. For example, “thisisanobject” as an entity name or identifier within a programming language would be difficult to read and understand, especially when used repeatedly in different places. Some programming languages allowed the use of a hyphen to separate the word, such as “this is an object”. Unfortunately, many languages treated the hyphen as a subtraction operator and their syntax did not allow for it to be used as a separator.
Blank spaces could not be used within the identifier and there really was a need for a symbol or character that would literally fill in the blank. In the late 1960s, the underscore was included as an alphabetic character, making it easier for programmers to name objects with multiple words. This symbol is used to concatenate very large string names and to create human-readable variable names. Using the example above, “this_is_an_object” would be a valid variable name accepted by many programming languages.
E-mail names, URLs on the World Wide Web, and very long file names within your computer’s operating system use underscores to separate words. The names of Word files, songs and documents can be saved as “name_name_name”, for example. It can also be used to separate words in usernames, for example, when logging into your computer. It is found on a keyboard near the top next to the zero on the same key as the dash. Holding down the Shift key while pressing the dash key results in an underscore.
Underlining has a very interesting history. It was first used in typewriters to emphasize certain words by underlining them. At the time, it was the only way to express printed words in any kind of inflection. The underscore emerged as an easy and inexpensive way to underline words printed on the typewriter. It is sometimes used to create gaps in forms by creating a long horizontal line.
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