Hyphen-minus
Encyclopedia
The hyphen-minus is a character
used in digital documents and computing to represent a hyphen
( ) or a minus sign ( − ) .
It is present in Unicode
as code point
; it is also in ASCII
with the same value.
The use of one character for hyphen and minus, and sometimes also for en dash, was a compromise made in the early days of fixed-width typewriter
s and computer display
s. However, in proper typesetting
and graphic design, there are distinct characters for hyphen
s, dash
es, and the minus sign. Usage of the hyphen-minus nonetheless persists in many contexts, as it is well-known, easy to enter on keyboards, and in the same location in all common character sets.
Most programming language
s, restricting themselves to ASCII, use the hyphen-minus, rather than the Unicode character , for denoting subtraction and negative numbers.
Commonly, an em dash is represented by two hyphen-minus signs in succession, or even three in TeX
markup.
Character (computing)
In computer and machine-based telecommunications terminology, a character is a unit of information that roughly corresponds to a grapheme, grapheme-like unit, or symbol, such as in an alphabet or syllabary in the written form of a natural language....
used in digital documents and computing to represent a hyphen
Hyphen
The hyphen is a punctuation mark used to join words and to separate syllables of a single word. The use of hyphens is called hyphenation. The hyphen should not be confused with dashes , which are longer and have different uses, or with the minus sign which is also longer...
( ) or a minus sign ( − ) .
It is present in Unicode
Unicode
Unicode is a computing industry standard for the consistent encoding, representation and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems...
as code point
Code point
In character encoding terminology, a code point or code position is any of the numerical values that make up the code space . For example, ASCII comprises 128 code points in the range 0hex to 7Fhex, Extended ASCII comprises 256 code points in the range 0hex to FFhex, and Unicode comprises 1,114,112...
; it is also in ASCII
ASCII
The American Standard Code for Information Interchange is a character-encoding scheme based on the ordering of the English alphabet. ASCII codes represent text in computers, communications equipment, and other devices that use text...
with the same value.
The use of one character for hyphen and minus, and sometimes also for en dash, was a compromise made in the early days of fixed-width typewriter
Typewriter
A typewriter is a mechanical or electromechanical device with keys that, when pressed, cause characters to be printed on a medium, usually paper. Typically one character is printed per keypress, and the machine prints the characters by making ink impressions of type elements similar to the pieces...
s and computer display
Computer display
A monitor or display is an electronic visual display for computers. The monitor comprises the display device, circuitry, and an enclosure...
s. However, in proper typesetting
Typesetting
Typesetting is the composition of text by means of types.Typesetting requires the prior process of designing a font and storing it in some manner...
and graphic design, there are distinct characters for hyphen
Hyphen
The hyphen is a punctuation mark used to join words and to separate syllables of a single word. The use of hyphens is called hyphenation. The hyphen should not be confused with dashes , which are longer and have different uses, or with the minus sign which is also longer...
s, dash
Dash
A dash is one of several kinds of punctuation mark. Dashes appear similar to hyphens, but differ from them primarily in length, and serve different functions. The most common versions of the dash are the en dash and the em dash .-Common dashes:...
es, and the minus sign. Usage of the hyphen-minus nonetheless persists in many contexts, as it is well-known, easy to enter on keyboards, and in the same location in all common character sets.
Most programming language
Programming language
A programming language is an artificial language designed to communicate instructions to a machine, particularly a computer. Programming languages can be used to create programs that control the behavior of a machine and/or to express algorithms precisely....
s, restricting themselves to ASCII, use the hyphen-minus, rather than the Unicode character , for denoting subtraction and negative numbers.
Commonly, an em dash is represented by two hyphen-minus signs in succession, or even three in TeX
TeX
TeX is a typesetting system designed and mostly written by Donald Knuth and released in 1978. Within the typesetting system, its name is formatted as ....
markup.