equals

character "=", ASCII character 61.

Common names: ITU-T: equals; gets; takes. Rare:

quadrathorpe; INTERCAL: half-mesh.

Equals is used in many languages as the assignment operator

though earlier languages used ":=" ("becomes equal to") to

avoid upsetting mathematicians with statements such as "x =

x+1". It is also used in compounds such as "=", "=", "==",

"/=", "!=" for various comparison operators and in C's "+=",

"*=" etc. which mimic the primitive operations of

two-address code.

(1995-03-29)