What ⍃ means
It returned the first component and removed it. APL/700 stored values in numbered slots; removing the first shifted later numbers down, like a queue pop. The April 1974 manual documents this operation.
Does ⍃ mean less than?
No. APL’s ordinary less-than function is <. It returns 1 when the left value is smaller than the right, otherwise 0. The name describes ⍃’s shape, not that comparison.
Part of the collection
Related characters
2
APL Functional Symbol Quad Greater-Than
In Burroughs APL/700’s April 1974 manual, ⍄ is the paired file operator for the last component: it returns and removes that end, while ⍃ acts on the first.
APL Functional Symbol Quad
The April 1974 APL/700 manual says file operators were formed by overstriking the quad box, ⎕, with another mark. ⍃ is the quad-plus-less-than member.
Questions people ask
1Why does ⍃ show as a box on some devices?
Because that device's fonts have no glyph for it. The character is still correct and still copies correctly — the box is a missing glyph, not a broken character.
More like this
9
How to type or find ⍃
- Search it as
- ⍃ APL · quad less-than · APL/700 file operator · APL file component
- Shows up in
- Anything that takes text · its shape is whatever your font draws
Windows (Word)
Windows
macOS
HTML
⍃CSS
\2343Codes and encoding1 code points
HTML decimal
⍃
HTML hex
⍃
CSS content
content: "\2343";
Each escape is closed by the next backslash; a trailing space is needed before a literal hex digit.
URL encoded
%E2%8D%83
1
On screen
1
Code points
1
JS .length
3
UTF-8 bytes
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.