sequence multiplied by -1

[Mel]

Seebs wrote:

> On 2010-10-03, Steven D'Aprano <steve at REMOVE-THIS-cybersource.com.au>
> wrote:
>> On Sat, 02 Oct 2010 12:50:02 -0700, Dennis Lee Bieber wrote:
>>> Well... We could maybe borrow from REXX... and
>>> use		||	for concatenation.
> 
>>|| for concatenation? What's the connection between the pipe character
>> and concatenation?
> 
> That it's used for concatenation in at least two languages (REXX and SQL).

and PL/I
>> It seems to
>> me that || was just plucked out of the air because it was unused.
> 
> That's quite possible in the past, but now it'd probably be done for
> consistency with some other language that did it already.

Could be mnemonic for 'one thing followed by another thing', just like '=' 
originally conveyed 'one thing the same as another'.

	Mel.