Question mark

The question mark (?) Is a punctuation mark.

The question mark in the Scriptures

In German and many other languages ​​, whose writings are based on the Latin alphabet, it marks the end of an interrogative sentence. In most Latin written languages ​​(except French) is the question mark - like any final punctuation - written without spaces at the last word of the sentence. This avoids annoying line breaks between the last word and the question mark. A faulty space before the question mark is referred to colloquially as Plenk. In typographic use a narrow space for better visual separation is often inserted before the question mark.

In Spanish, a question set is additionally introduced by an upside-down question mark ¿ (U 00 BF). It was introduced by the Real Academia Española in 1754 in the second edition of the spelling. The Arabic script knows the question mark also. However, it is adapted to the writing direction: ? (U 061 F). Other writing systems, like the Chinese, have taken it.

In Greek, the semicolon ( ;) is used as a question mark ( Ερωτηματικό ). In Unicode character U 037 E are the GREEK QUESTION MARK, and U 003 B SEMI COLON canonically equivalent; So you will normally use the latter.

By a question mark can be displayed alongside the question is an invitation: " Do you go once to the basement, get drinks? " Is not a question but a request. Here is a special case of a rhetorical question. In the early modern period there was for their own form of the question mark. However, the by Henry Denham introduced in the 1580s percontation ( ⸮, U 2 E2E ) lost in the 17th century in importance again. In the 1960s, with the Interrobang ( ‽, U 203 D) was re-introduced their own characters for it, but that also could never enforce itself widely.

Origin

The question mark first appears in the signature reforms of Charlemagne. Its introduction was embedded in the enforcement of the Carolingian minuscule, which is considered sustainable performance of the Carolingian renewal and science. However, its function and shape was placed later on today.

About the origin of the character, there are several assumptions. One derives it from the Latin word for Quaestio from question. This word was placed at the end of the question set. By the time this word appeared too long, then it was abbreviated to Qo. A little later the big Q was then for reasons of space wrote about the little o, and this combination evolved into the present-day characters? .

Another explanation sees the origin in the 9th century, at the end of a question as you put one point, which was followed by a curved line, as if a sloping upwards tilde ( ~ ), which should indicate the vocal course, much like the early notation the neumes. This combination today's question mark could have developed.

The question mark in the computer field

In the ASCII code, the question mark has the numerical value 63 (decimal ) and 0x003F (hexadecimal).

Has a keyboard no inverted question mark, so can be used on Microsoft Windows 168 Alt 0191 or Alt to produce such; you must use the numeric keypad on the right side of the keyboard to do so. On a Macintosh this is ß by Alt /? generated. On Linux systems with newer versions of X11, the characters can be carried Compose? ? or Alt Gr ? Enter.

Placeholder

Searches are using the computer, the question mark is also used as a placeholder for exactly one character (see Wildcard). For example, supplies the name search with M? Ier a result of Maier and Meier.

In regular expressions, is the question mark for the ( once ) possible, but not necessary occurrences of the preceding item. Thus, the search for genitives? S the references genitive and Genitives ( in the first case is that the "?" Preceding item "e" not once, in the second case exactly once ).

Conditional operator

In some programming languages ​​, the question mark, together with a colon a three-digit operator, called the conditional operator. For (C )

Std :: string OutputText = count > 1? "Numbers", " number"; Syntactic separation

In URLs the question mark with the query string from the path separates; so that additional information can be transmitted, for example

Http://example.com/index.php?action=edit Chess notation

Furthermore, the question mark used in the chess notation and features an evil train.

Comics

In speech or thought bubbles press question mark uncertainty, possibly in combination with an exclamation mark, astonishment.

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