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From: Christian Weisgerber <naddy@mips.inka.de>
Newsgroups: comp.lang.awk
Subject: Re: 100 Random Single Variable Linear Equations
Date: Fri, 6 Dec 2024 23:05:33 -0000 (UTC)
Message-ID: <slrnvl70pt.14uh.naddy@lorvorc.mips.inka.de>
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On 2024-12-06, Janis Papanagnou <janis_papanagnou+ng@hotmail.com> wrote:

>> One older book I have (from 1917!) has 1-2 paragraphs saying 5x without
>> an intervening * is very bad form & yet, everybody seems to use it, at
>> least here the USA.
>
> It's amazing that the old book you're referring to mentions '*' as
> multiplication.

I suspect Mike used '*' as as short-hand for "a multiplication
sign" and not specifically the asterisk.

> If the '*' is [in the USA] suggested in books that would probably
> explain the choice of that character for computer programs' syntax.

I don't think that's the case.  But now I wonder, where did the use
of the asterisk as multiplication sign come from? ... Wikipedia
suggests it originated in Fortran, due to the restrictions of early
character sets.

While the multiplication sign '×' is sometimes used as such (and
also for the vector cross product), the division sign '÷' is limited
to calculator keypads and never encountered anywhere else that I
can think of.

-- 
Christian "naddy" Weisgerber                          naddy@mips.inka.de