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<div><a href="index.html" title="">Macaulay2Doc</a> > <a href="___The_sp__Macaulay2_splanguage.html" title="">The Macaulay2 language</a> > <a href="_variables.html" title="The variables of a complex or co-complex.">variables</a> > <a href="_valid_spnames.html" title="">valid names</a></div>
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<div><h1>valid names</h1>
<div>Valid names for symbols may be constructed using letters, digits, and the apostrophe, and should not begin with a digit.<table class="examples"><tr><td><pre>i1 : x
o1 = x
o1 : Symbol</pre>
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<tr><td><pre>i2 : q0r55
o2 = q0r55
o2 : Symbol</pre>
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<tr><td><pre>i3 : f'
o3 = f'
o3 : Symbol</pre>
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Some symbols have preassigned meanings and values. For example, symbols consisting of the letter <tt>o</tt> followed by a number are used to store output values.<table class="examples"><tr><td><pre>i4 : o2
o4 = q0r55
o4 : Symbol</pre>
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Other symbols refer to functions built into Macaulay2 that provide much of its functionality, as we will learn.<p/>
The class of all symbols is <a href="___Symbol.html" title="the class of all symbols">Symbol</a>.</div>
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