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Jerryobject (talk | contribs) WP:LINKs: plural > WP:SINGULAR, adds, update-standardizes, needless WP:PIPEs > WP:NOPIPEs. Small WP:COPYEDITs WP:EoS: clarify, WP:TERSE. WP:REFerence WP:CITation parameters: update-standardizes, respaces, adds, fills, author > last + first, recorders, conform to master templates. Cut needless carriage return in paragraph. |
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{{Short description|Datatype in programming}}
A '''symbol''' in [[computer programming]] is a [[Primitive data type|primitive]] [[data type]] which [[Instance (computer science)|instances]] have a unique human-readable form. Symbols can be used as [[Identifier (computer languages)|identifier]]s. In some [[programming language]]s, they are called '''atoms'''.<ref name=pickaxe>{{cite book |last1=Thomas |first1=Dave |author1-link=Dave Thomas (programmer) |last2=Fowler |first2=Chad |last3=Hunt |first3=Andy |author3-link=Andy Hunt (author) |year=2001 |title=Programming Ruby the pragmatic programmers' guide; [includes Ruby 1.8] |publisher=The Pragmatic Bookshelf |___location=Raleigh, North Carolina |isbn=978-0-9745140-5-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/programmingrubyp00thom |edition=2nd, 10 print. |url-access=registration}}</ref> Uniqueness is enforced by holding them in a [[symbol table]]. The most common use of symbols by programmers is to perform language [[Reflective programming|reflection]] (particularly for [[Callback (computer programming)|callbacks]]), and most common indirectly is their use to create object [[Linkage (software)|linkages]].
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