What is an asterisk?(What is, Concept and Definition)

Sometimes called star , big dot and multiplication symbol , the asterisk is a symbol (* ) above the "8" key on standard US keyboards and the numeric keypad.

Where is the asterisk key on the keyboard?

Below is an overview of a computer keyboard with the asterisk key highlighted in blue on the main keyboard and the numeric keypad.

How to create the symbol *

Create the * symbol on a US keyboard

To create an asterisk with an American keyboard, hold down the Shift key and press the eight key on the keyboard.

Tip

The asterisk is easier to use on the numeric keypad with mathematical formulas.

Create the symbol * on a smartphone or tablet

To create an asterisk on a smartphone or tablet, open the keyboard, go to the numbers section (123) and then to the (# +=) or symbols (sym) section.Press your finger on the symbol *.

What is an asterisk used for on a computer?

Below are examples of how the asterisk is used on a computer.

An asterisk in a mathematical formula

In a mathematical formula, an asterisk is used to represent a multiplication (times).For example, in the following formula you can see that 5 2 equals 10.

5 * 2=10

A asterisk in a wildcard

The asterisk represents a wildcard or wildcard character with computers.For example, typing *.TXT in a search or search field will search for any file ending with.TXT.

An asterisk in computer programming

Another example of an asterisk is in the non-executable declaration used with some programming languages.For example, in the following PHP code, the comment "hidden text" will not show when executed because it is surrounded by a forward slash and an asterisk.

In Python and other programming languages, a ** can be used as an operator to calculate the power of a number.For example, i ** j would be "i" to the power of "j "in the script.

A star symbol in a spreadsheet program

In spreadsheet programs like Microsoft Excel, a star symbol (asterisk) is used in formulas for multiplication.For example, in the following formula, cell A1 is multiplied by cell B1.

=sum (A1 * B1)

An asterisk for reference

Finally, an asterisk is also commonly used as a reference mark in a document.