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If a term contains non-alphanumeric characters, when (if ever) should these characters be spelled out? For example:

C++   written as   C Plus Plus

C#      written as   C-Sharp

If they are spelled out, what are the conventions regarding capitalization and hyphens (e.g. C Plus Plus or C-plus-plus)?

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    I suggest there's never really any reason to write those long forms except in programming code, where "macros" such as #ifdef __cplusplus need to avoid including symbols that might confuse the compiler's parsing logic.
    – FumbleFingers
    Dec 14, 2011 at 13:45
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    The only other reason I can think of for spelling them out is to indicate pronunciation ("C#, pronounced C-sharp not C-hash"; "C++, pronounced C-plus-plus not C-add-add")
    – Waggers
    Dec 14, 2011 at 13:54
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    And the third only reason is for tags or keywords where you can't search for punctuation.
    – Hugo
    Dec 14, 2011 at 14:01
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    A fourth only reason would be when explaining the origin and meaning of such a term.
    – Jay
    Dec 14, 2011 at 16:10
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    Enough already! We don't need a fifth reason!
    – FumbleFingers
    Dec 14, 2011 at 22:05

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I hope I'm not stepping out of line, but since the comments contained several good answers, I thought it worthwhile to group them together into a properly credited answer. Currently it seems the community has found four reasons to spell out non-alphanumeric characters:

  1. FumbleFingers noted that programming code can require spelling out such symbols to avoid creating problems during the parsing phase of a compiler/interpreter.
  2. Waggers added that spelling out symbols can clarify pronunciation (e.g. "C#" as "C-sharp" rather than "C-hash" or "C-pound")
  3. Hugo mentioned the concept of avoiding reserved characters in a tagging/keyword/categorization system.
  4. Jay added that explaining the origin and meaning of such a term could require spelling it out. I think there's a lot of overlap between this and Waggers' answer about pronunciation.
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