stringa

Stringa (plural stringhe) is an Italian noun meaning a string, cord, thread, or line. In everyday use it refers to a physical cord or thread—examples include a drawstring on clothing or the stringa of a guitar. It can also denote a length of material arranged in a line, such as a stringa di carta.

In computing, stringa is the standard Italian term for the string data type: a sequence of characters used to store text. Italian programming resources and documentation frequently refer to stringhe or stringa when describing string operations. Common concepts include lunghezza (length), concatenazione (concatenation), sottostringa (substring), and ricerca (search). A stringa vuota is the empty string; a stringa di caratteri is a string composed of characters.

Etymology: stringa derives from Latin stringa via Old Italian, and is cognate with the English word string. The term’s use in computing mirrors the English concept through translation.

In other contexts, stringa also appears in ordinary language to describe cords or laces, such as drawstrings or shoelaces, illustrating its broad meaning as a thread-like element.

See also: string (data type); teorie delle stringhe (string theory).