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6

From my understanding, the caret character (^) has been used to indicate Ctrl-key combinations since the early UNIX days, if not earlier. Why was this character used to indicate this? Was it simply that the symbol wasn't being used for anything else at the time, or is there an etymological history where that makes sense?

Some things have used alternate notation; for example, Emacs stands out for using C- instead, and many user manuals simply write control- or ctrl-, much as how alt- is still commonplace (a notable exception being Apple's modern use of ⌥ for Alt, and similarly ⌘ for Meta, which of course used to be represented with the Apple logo instead).

The dictionary definition of caret doesn't make any nod to this usage, and instead only offers:

a wedge-shaped mark made on written or printed matter to indicate the place where something is to be inserted

and while Wikipedia describes the usage as a control character it states nothing about the history of this usage so far as I can find.

terminology

share|improve this question

asked 3 hours ago

fluffyfluffy

1313

New contributor

fluffy is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  ⌥ doesn't mean alt, it means option. Similarly, ⌘/ means command.
  
  – Mark
  1 hour ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

6

From my understanding, the caret character (^) has been used to indicate Ctrl-key combinations since the early UNIX days, if not earlier. Why was this character used to indicate this? Was it simply that the symbol wasn't being used for anything else at the time, or is there an etymological history where that makes sense?

Some things have used alternate notation; for example, Emacs stands out for using C- instead, and many user manuals simply write control- or ctrl-, much as how alt- is still commonplace (a notable exception being Apple's modern use of ⌥ for Alt, and similarly ⌘ for Meta, which of course used to be represented with the Apple logo instead).

The dictionary definition of caret doesn't make any nod to this usage, and instead only offers:

a wedge-shaped mark made on written or printed matter to indicate the place where something is to be inserted

and while Wikipedia describes the usage as a control character it states nothing about the history of this usage so far as I can find.

terminology

share|improve this question

asked 3 hours ago

fluffyfluffy

1313

New contributor

fluffy is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  ⌥ doesn't mean alt, it means option. Similarly, ⌘/ means command.
  
  – Mark
  1 hour ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

From my understanding, the caret character (^) has been used to indicate Ctrl-key combinations since the early UNIX days, if not earlier. Why was this character used to indicate this? Was it simply that the symbol wasn't being used for anything else at the time, or is there an etymological history where that makes sense?

Some things have used alternate notation; for example, Emacs stands out for using C- instead, and many user manuals simply write control- or ctrl-, much as how alt- is still commonplace (a notable exception being Apple's modern use of ⌥ for Alt, and similarly ⌘ for Meta, which of course used to be represented with the Apple logo instead).

The dictionary definition of caret doesn't make any nod to this usage, and instead only offers:

a wedge-shaped mark made on written or printed matter to indicate the place where something is to be inserted

and while Wikipedia describes the usage as a control character it states nothing about the history of this usage so far as I can find.

terminology

share|improve this question

asked 3 hours ago

fluffyfluffy

1313

New contributor

fluffy is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

share|improve this question

asked 3 hours ago

fluffyfluffy

1313

New contributor

fluffy is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

share|improve this question

asked 3 hours ago

fluffyfluffy

1313

New contributor

fluffy is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

asked 3 hours ago

fluffyfluffy

1313

New contributor

fluffy is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

asked 3 hours ago

fluffyfluffy

1313

1 Answer
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3

We use caret because the 1968 version of ASCII replaced the perfectly fine up-arrow (previously used for indicating control characters) with a lousy caret, at the same code value.

I think the up-arrow, letter convention originated with DEC operating systems. The primary need was not documentation, but for echoing something printable (and preferably easily recognizable) when a control character is typed on the keyboard. Bear in mind that the I/O device at this time was something like a teletype.

But I don't think there's anything special about the choice; as far as I known it was a semi-arbitrary decision that stuck.

This 1965 brochure for the PDP-6 Monitor shows the uparrow, C convention for control-C, on page 4.

share|improve this answer

edited 2 hours ago

answered 2 hours ago

another-daveanother-dave

1,431316

• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Also, Caret notation indicates that the use of ^ was not universal, at least the Acorn used a different notation.
  
  – Greg Hewgill
  2 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Also, as far as I can tell from looking around, "control-letter" characters pretty much imply ASCII, at least before PC-style keyboards. Other codes, say Baudot, had what in modern write-ups get called "control characters", but I don't think they were at the time. (Note to young people: the world was not originally ASCII, there were many character codes, sometimes even varying between devices on the same system).
  
  – another-dave
  1 hour ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

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3

We use caret because the 1968 version of ASCII replaced the perfectly fine up-arrow (previously used for indicating control characters) with a lousy caret, at the same code value.

I think the up-arrow, letter convention originated with DEC operating systems. The primary need was not documentation, but for echoing something printable (and preferably easily recognizable) when a control character is typed on the keyboard. Bear in mind that the I/O device at this time was something like a teletype.

But I don't think there's anything special about the choice; as far as I known it was a semi-arbitrary decision that stuck.

This 1965 brochure for the PDP-6 Monitor shows the uparrow, C convention for control-C, on page 4.

share|improve this answer

edited 2 hours ago

answered 2 hours ago

another-daveanother-dave

1,431316

• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Also, Caret notation indicates that the use of ^ was not universal, at least the Acorn used a different notation.
  
  – Greg Hewgill
  2 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Also, as far as I can tell from looking around, "control-letter" characters pretty much imply ASCII, at least before PC-style keyboards. Other codes, say Baudot, had what in modern write-ups get called "control characters", but I don't think they were at the time. (Note to young people: the world was not originally ASCII, there were many character codes, sometimes even varying between devices on the same system).
  
  – another-dave
  1 hour ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

3

We use caret because the 1968 version of ASCII replaced the perfectly fine up-arrow (previously used for indicating control characters) with a lousy caret, at the same code value.

I think the up-arrow, letter convention originated with DEC operating systems. The primary need was not documentation, but for echoing something printable (and preferably easily recognizable) when a control character is typed on the keyboard. Bear in mind that the I/O device at this time was something like a teletype.

But I don't think there's anything special about the choice; as far as I known it was a semi-arbitrary decision that stuck.

This 1965 brochure for the PDP-6 Monitor shows the uparrow, C convention for control-C, on page 4.

share|improve this answer

edited 2 hours ago

answered 2 hours ago

another-daveanother-dave

1,431316

• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Also, Caret notation indicates that the use of ^ was not universal, at least the Acorn used a different notation.
  
  – Greg Hewgill
  2 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Also, as far as I can tell from looking around, "control-letter" characters pretty much imply ASCII, at least before PC-style keyboards. Other codes, say Baudot, had what in modern write-ups get called "control characters", but I don't think they were at the time. (Note to young people: the world was not originally ASCII, there were many character codes, sometimes even varying between devices on the same system).
  
  – another-dave
  1 hour ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

We use caret because the 1968 version of ASCII replaced the perfectly fine up-arrow (previously used for indicating control characters) with a lousy caret, at the same code value.

I think the up-arrow, letter convention originated with DEC operating systems. The primary need was not documentation, but for echoing something printable (and preferably easily recognizable) when a control character is typed on the keyboard. Bear in mind that the I/O device at this time was something like a teletype.

But I don't think there's anything special about the choice; as far as I known it was a semi-arbitrary decision that stuck.

This 1965 brochure for the PDP-6 Monitor shows the uparrow, C convention for control-C, on page 4.

share|improve this answer

edited 2 hours ago

answered 2 hours ago

another-daveanother-dave

1,431316

share|improve this answer

edited 2 hours ago

answered 2 hours ago

another-daveanother-dave

1,431316

answered 2 hours ago

another-daveanother-dave

1,431316

answered 2 hours ago

another-daveanother-dave

1,431316