Doubleasterisk

Doubleasterisk, also known as double asterisk, is a typographical symbol consisting of two asterisks (**) placed side by side. It is commonly used in various contexts, including programming, documentation, and text formatting.

In programming, doubleasterisk is often used as an exponentiation operator in some programming languages, such as Python. For example, in Python, the expression 2 ** 3 evaluates to 8, which is 2 raised to the power of 3. This usage is distinct from the single asterisk (*), which typically denotes multiplication.

In documentation and text formatting, doubleasterisk can be used to emphasize text. For instance, in some markup languages like Markdown, wrapping text with double asterisks (**text**) will render the text in bold. This is similar to the use of double underscores (__text__) for bold text in other markup languages.

The doubleasterisk symbol can also appear in mathematical notation, where it is used to denote the Cartesian product of two sets. For example, A ** B represents the set of all ordered pairs (a, b) where a is an element of set A and b is an element of set B.

Despite its varied uses, the doubleasterisk symbol is generally straightforward and easy to understand, making it a useful tool in both technical and non-technical contexts. Its specific meaning often depends on the context in which it is used.