c# - What does the word "literal" mean?

Question

What does the word "literal" mean when used in context such as literal strings and literal values?

What is the difference between a literal value and a value?

Answer 1

A literal is "any notation for representing a value within source code" (wikipedia)

(Contrast this with identifiers, which refer to a value in memory.)

Examples:

• "hey" (a string)
• false (a boolean)
• 3.14 (a real number)
• [1,2,3] (a list of numbers)
• (x) => x*x (a function)
• /^1?$|^(11+?)1+$/ (a regexp)

Some things that are not literals:

• std::cout (an identifier)
• foo = 0; (a statement)
• 1+2 (an expression)