In my central viva, I have been asked '</>' what is this symbol called ,I became frozen because I forgot what is was.I knew it was called smaller then and larger than,but what's it actually?
I fired up my laptop and found it's called angle bracket or "chevron"
I also found some other details that I am gonna share and chatGPT helped me to write this.
So,
if you've ever seen </> strewn all over t-shirts, mugs, and stickers at tech-related places, you've undoubtedly wondered why. Despite being a straightforward symbol combination, it has gained notoriety in the coding community. These symbols appear everywhere, from manual pages to developers at conferences.
We're going to look deeply into </> in this post to discover its meaning, origins, and why the tech community finds it so appealing.
Let's first address certain fundamentals. Technically, the symbols < and > are called angle brackets or chevrons. While < and > signify "less than" and "greater than," respectively, in mathematics, these symbols have a more expansive meaning in programming.
So why is </> such a big deal? Let’s explore.
In its simplest form, </> visually represents the closing tag, suggesting an ending, completion, or wrapping up of something. But here’s the twist: the symbol itself doesn’t have a fixed meaning. It’s almost a visual metaphor for “something related to code,” especially for those who work with markup or code structures.
In its most basic form, '</>' denotes the closing tag, implying a finish, conclusion, or wrapping up of anything. But here's the twist: the sign itself does not have a set meaning. It's almost a visual metaphor for "something related to code," which is useful for folks who work with markup or code structure.
The journey of '</>' does not end with its cultural impact. In some languages and frameworks, it has functional implications. In React, a popular JavaScript framework, '</>' represents a Fragment. Essentially, this is a method for grouping elements without adding unnecessary HTML to the output.
Outside of React, some functional languages, such as Haskell and F#, use '</>' as an operator to combine file paths or handle complex functions. This transforms '</>' from a visual symbol to a functional component of some coding languages.
The abstraction of </> is what makes it so beautiful. Developers can relate to it without a specific meaning. It alludes to something using coding, acknowledging HTML, XML, React, and other technologies. It can signify anything or nothing at all, yet it still denotes a link to the coding community.
You'll know it's not a random design the next time you see someone wearing a </> shirt. It's an acknowledgement of their technological prowess and a mark of honour for belonging to the coding community. </> is a symbol that will always be used, regardless of whether someone is interested in HTML, React, or just the aesthetics.
Top comments (0)