namesep

Namesep, short for name separator, is a delimiter used to separate parts of a fully qualified name in computing and data formats. It defines how hierarchical identifiers are parsed and presented, enabling systems to distinguish levels such as namespaces, modules, or subcomponents.

In programming languages and data models, a namesep helps express nesting. Common examples include the dot used in Java to separate package components, the double colon used in C++ for scope resolution, and slashes used to separate path segments in URLs and filesystems. Some configurations and languages also employ colons or other sequences as a namesep to separate a namespace from an entity.

Design considerations for a namesep include choosing a single character or short sequence that is unlikely to appear in ordinary identifiers. Parsers must handle escaping or quoting when the separator can occur within identifiers, to avoid ambiguity. Some ecosystems provide alternative notations or explicit escape rules to support special cases.

Usage contexts span configuration files, command line interfaces, programming languages, data interchange formats, and documentation tools, where a stable namesep helps resolve references and maintain readability. The choice of namesep can influence parsing logic, readability, and interoperability across systems or tools that process hierarchical names.

Common separators encountered in practice include the dot, double colon, and forward slash, though exact semantics vary by domain. See also namespace, qualified name, path separator, and delimiter.