delimiters
Characters separating data fields
Delimiters are characters or sequences that mark boundaries between separate elements in data or text.
In computing, common delimiters include commas in CSV files, tabs between spreadsheet columns, and quotation marks around strings.
The term extends to any marker that signals where one unit ends and another begins: The parser couldn't handle the nested delimiters.
Choosing the wrong delimiter—or encountering one unexpectedly within your data—is a classic source of bugs.
Something that divides
- tokenRepresentative placeholder
- parserSyntax-interpreting program
- stringSlender fiber or character sequence
- fieldArea of specialty
record · CSV · regex · split · concatenate · substring · boundary marker · terminator
Punctuation marking pauses
- periodPunctuation ending sentences
- semicolonPunctuation joining related clauses
- colonLarge intestine section
- dashQuick burst or pinch
hyphen · slash · backslash · pipe · bracket · parenthesis · braces · angle bracket
Outer edge or limit
- edgeBoundary or sharpness
- marginEdge of a page
- thresholdPoint of beginning
- demarcationFormal boundary setting
dividing line · partition · barrier · cutoff · borderline · interface · fence · enclosure
separator
Something that divides
- tokenRepresentative placeholder
- parserSyntax-interpreting program
- stringSlender fiber or character sequence
field · record · CSV · regex · split · concatenate · substring · boundary marker · terminator · array
comma
Punctuation marking pauses
- periodPunctuation ending sentences
- semicolonPunctuation joining related clauses
- colonLarge intestine section
dash · hyphen · slash · backslash · pipe · bracket · parenthesis · braces · angle bracket · quotation mark
border
Outer edge or limit
demarcation · dividing line · partition · barrier · cutoff · borderline · interface · fence · enclosure · perimeter
- programmingvariables, functions, for, function, debugger
- data formatsJSON, XML, CSV, YAML, HTML
- promptingprompt engineering, chain of thought, constraints, specificity, examples
- serializationserialize, marshal, marshalling, serializer, encode