Unicode Explained

• In several programming languages, asterisk is the multiplication symbol, but it may

also have other uses. For example, int *p; declares p as a pointer to int in C.

When writing or quoting expressions in computer languages that have the asterisk as

part of language syntax, the asterisk shall be preserved of course. On the other hand,

such usage should not be extended to other contexts, unless the limitations of the

character repertoire prevent the use of better symbols. Specifically, in ISO Latin 1 there

is a separate multiplication sign. In some contexts the middle dot (·) is, somewhat

arguably, an adequate multiplication symbol.

The glyphs for the asterisk vary, but generally it appears in a more or less superscript

style, perhaps in a rather small size. It is difficult to say what an asterisk should look

like, given its mixed usage. When used as an operator of some kind, it should be ver-

tically positioned the same way as, for example, the plus sign. When used as a reference

sign, and perhaps in some other uses too, it should appear in superscript style. It seems

that most font designs reflect the latter style, making expressions like a*b look some-

what odd. If you cannot use a symbol with less ambiguous meaning, you might try to

help things by using a font where the asterisk looks more operator-like, such as the

Courier font, though even the Courier * is somewhat raised. Quite often