(off list -- there is enough noise lately) Likewise with line printers. A like printed followed by the underscores without advancing the carriage in between.
On Thu, 12 Jan 2012 20:06:22 -0700, Paul Gilmartin <[email protected]> wrote: >On Jan 11, 2012, at 09:51, John Gilmore wrote: >> >> The name 'underscore' for the character '_' is at best a misnomer. >> It cannot be put under another character. In standard IBM terminology >> it is a break character. >> >You've sometimes admonished me for taking the synchronic view >rather than the diachronic. But here, you're being narrowly >synchronic. In the Bad Old Days of Yore, mechanical serial >printers could be commanded to underscore with the sequence ><underscore><backspace><character-to-be-underscored>. In this >diachronic perspective, "underscore" is not a misnomer, merely >antiquated. > >-- gil
