xkcd.com/353 ( Flying with Python )

[Skip Montanaro]

>
> > https://xkcd.com/1306/
> >                           what does  SIGIL   mean?
>
> I think its' a Perl term, referring to the $/@/# symbols in front of
> identifiers.
>

I had a vague recollection of hearing it elsewhere (*Game of Thrones,* on
the armies' battle flags?), but didn't know what it meant. Google tells me:

*an inscribed or painted symbol considered to have magical power.*

So, they're more than just line noise. They confer power on their users...

Perhaps '@' in the context of decorators is the most prominent example in
Python, since decorators technically don't allow the programmer to do
something they couldn't before, but are now are used everywhere, a key
feature of many applications and modules.

Magical-ly, y'rs,

Skip

>