RE: [TCLUG:7491] #! Problem!

[Luke Francl <fran0382@tc.umn.edu>]

On Thu, 12 Aug 1999, Eric Hillman wrote:

> > > I heard is was called "sheh-bang", after the sound the "#" and the "!"
> > > made on the old teletype machines when they printed off...
> > >
> >
> > Is that where the "bang" comes from? I learn something new every day! I
> > think the definitive source is the Perl "Camel" book -- it's mentioned
> > in there. Anyone have it handy?
> 
> 	I believe calling ! a "bang" predates computing by some time -- it's
> actually typesetter's slang, and maybe older.  "Exclamation point" is, after
> all, a heck of a mouthful.
> 
> 	I can't document this for sure, although I do know that a symbol consisting
> of a ! and a ? fused at the stem (seldom seen outside of cartoons) is called
> an "interbang", and is mentioned in "Fabulous Fads and Forgotten Flops" by
> Rhino books...

I did some researching on this...the New Hacker's Dictionary is rather
lacking in this (as is Merriam-Websters). However, I found this reference:

http://www.flashback.se/archive/nia-22

Which is an *old* (1990) UNIX FAQ. Near the bottom they have a
pronunciation key for ASCII values. It's pretty interesting. 

Here's some relevant parts:

! bang	comes from old card punch phenom where punching ! code made a
	loud noise; however, this pronunciation is used in the 
	(non-computerized) publishing and typesetting industry in the U.S.
	too, so ...

#!	sh'bang, wallop

Some others for "!":

! 	EXCLAMATION POINT, exclamation (mark), (ex)clam, excl, wow, hey, boing,
        bang, shout, yell, shriek, pling, factorial, ball-bat, smash, 
	cuss, store, potion, not, dammit


Luke