symbolfrom

Symbolfrom is a term used in discussions of programming languages and symbolic computation to denote a hypothetical primitive that converts a string into a symbol object. In this view, a symbol represents an interned identifier used by the language’s symbol table to enable efficient comparison and reflection.

In a typical design, symbolfrom takes a string that names an identifier and returns the corresponding interned symbol. Repeated calls with the same string yield the same symbol object, allowing identity checks to be performed by reference equality rather than by name. The behavior of symbolfrom can vary in handling of namespaces, case sensitivity, and validity rules for identifiers.

Common considerations include how namespaces are represented (for example as qualified names with a slash or a dot), whether symbols are created anew or reused across contexts, and how non-identifier strings are treated. Some languages impose strict rules and will raise errors for strings that do not form valid identifiers, while others support escaping or quoting to construct more complex symbols.

Symbolfrom is often discussed in the contexts of macro systems, meta-programming, code generation, and reflective programming, where converting user input or generated strings into identifiers is useful. It is closely related to concepts such as symbol interning, the symbol table, and the use of interned symbols to optimize identity checks and memory usage.

See also: symbol, intern, gensym, symbol table, macro system.