
Vertical bars also appear in printed and online material in the form of punctuation or typographical marks. For example, vertical bars, along with angle brackets, are key elements in Bra-ket notation, a standard notation found in quantum mechanics to describe quantum states. The vertical bar is used in other ways as well. A simple example of this is a|b, which translates to "a divides b" or "b is divisible by a." The vertical bar is also used for mathematical norms, conditional probability, set-builder notation, function parameter separation and other areas of mathematics. The vertical bar can also express divisibility. This means that the absolute value of -5 is 5. For example, it can indicate the absolute value of a number, as in |-5| = 5. Once again, its use depends on the context.Īs with computing, mathematics uses the vertical bar in a variety of ways.


Even within a single area such as computing, the vertical bar is applied in multiple ways. The vertical bar ( | ) - also called the vertical line, vertical slash, pipe, pipe symbol or upright slash - is a symbol used in mathematics, computing and other areas to represent a specific type of logic or operation, depending on its context.
