Complete Guide to Programming Symbols and Their Names

When you write code, you use dozens of punctuation marks and special symbols. Knowing their names helps you navigate documentation, ask for help quickly, and reference them in code reviews. Here's your comprehensive guide to the most common programming symbols, their names, and how they're used.

🚩 Programming Symbols Table

Symbol	Name(s)	Common Uses
`	Backtick, Grave Accent	Template literals (JS), shell commands
~	Tilde	Bitwise NOT, home directory in UNIX, approximation
:	Colon	Type hint, label, object keys, ternary
;	Semicolon	End statement, delimiter
"	Double quote	String delimiter
'	Single quote, Apostrophe	String/char delimiter, possession
``	Pair of backticks, code block	Markdown, shell code segments
>	Greater than, Right angle	Comparisons, HTML tags, output redirection

| ), comments (// comment`), file paths in UNIX.

Underscore (_): Used in variable names (snake_case), ignoring values in Python assignments.
Dollar ($): Variable and interpolation, especially in shell scripting ($VAR) and string templates (${variable} in JS/TS).
Hash (#): Comments in Python/Bash, Markdown headers (# Header), preprocessor in C/C++.
Asterisk (*): Multiplication (a * b), pointer (int *ptr), wildcards in search/regex.
Caret (^): Bitwise XOR in many languages, power operator in some, caret in regex.
Plus (+), Minus (-), Equals (=): Arithmetic operations and assignment.
Percent (%): Modulo operation (x % 2 gives remainder).
Ampersand (&): Bitwise AND, referencing, addresses, concatenation in shell.
Ellipsis (...): JS/TS spread/rest operator, Python slicing, etc.
Comma (,), Period (.): Argument/element separation, method/property access.

💡 Why Learn Symbol Names?

Precise communication: Report or understand errors ("missing semicolon" vs. "missing ;").
Documentation clarity: Tutorials reference "caret", "pipe", "bang", etc.
Quicker searching and learning: Use the proper term: e.g., "escape backslash in Python" vs. "how to use \ in Python".

👩‍💻 Fun Fact

! = Bang, Shriek
# = Hash, Octothorpe, Pound, Sharp
| = Pipe, Vertical Bar
~ = Tilde, Squiggle
/ = Slash, Solidus

📝 Final Tips

Print or bookmark this list for easy symbol reference.
Whenever you encounter a symbol you don't recognize, look up its programming name to learn its meaning and context.