De gustibus! If John McKown wishes to think of a break character as one that underscores a blank/space character then he is of course free to do so.
That said, his approach---if it were taken seriously---would not be a fertile one. The use of underlined characters, italic characters, bold characters, unholy combinations of bold and italic characters, and the like is better viewed as a presentation device, the representation of which is kept distinct from and not confounded with the representation of content. Much the same thing applied to other comments. Back spacing on a page printer, overprinting on a line printer, and the like are accomplished using formatting directives that, again, are and should be kept distinct from the representation of content. --jg On 1/12/12, McKown, John <[email protected]> wrote: > Every use of _ by me is definitely an underscore. I'm underscoring the blank > character <grin>. I would guess that, typographically speaking, the _ is an > underscore because the symbol_ is below the baseline. At least in the > "Courier New" typeface that I'm using. > > -- > John McKown > Systems Engineer IV > IT > > Administrative Services Group > > HealthMarkets(r) > > 9151 Boulevard 26 * N. Richland Hills * TX 76010 > (817) 255-3225 phone * > [email protected] * www.HealthMarkets.com > > Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message may contain confidential or > proprietary information. If you are not the intended recipient, please > contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original > message. HealthMarkets(r) is the brand name for products underwritten and > issued by the insurance subsidiaries of HealthMarkets, Inc. -The Chesapeake > Life Insurance Company(r), Mid-West National Life Insurance Company of > TennesseeSM and The MEGA Life and Health Insurance Company.SM > > > >> -----Original Message----- >> From: IBM Mainframe Assembler List >> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of robin >> Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2012 5:46 PM >> To: [email protected] >> Subject: Re: Interesting observation >> >> From: "John Gilmore" <[email protected]> >> Sent: Thursday, 12 January 2012 3:51 AM >> >> >> > The name 'underscore' for the character '_' is at best a misnomer. >> > It cannot be put under another character. >> >> It can be, on mechanical printers, at least. >> These are of the kind that can backspace. >> They include the Diablo and Qume printers >> and those of their ilk that can print and back-space. >> In Windows MS word, there's even a button for underlining. >> >> -- >> This message has been scanned for viruses and >> dangerous content by MailScanner, and is >> believed to be clean. >> >> > -- John Gilmore, Ashland, MA 01721 - USA
