Using Director > Writing Scripts with Lingo > Expressing literal values > Using symbols |  |

Using symbols

A symbol is a string or other value that begins with the pound (`#`) sign.

Symbols are user-defined constants. Comparisons using symbols can usually be performed very quickly, providing more efficient code.

For example, the statement

    userLevel = #novice

runs more quickly than the statement

    userLevel = "novice"

Symbols can't contain spaces or punctuation.

Convert a string to a symbol by using the `symbol()` function. Convert a symbol back to a string by using the `string()` function.

See `# (symbol)` operator and `string()` function.