>very particular sort of meaning. But programming languages are >very, very strictly defined. Unlike natural language, programming >languages very rarely possess symbols that have simultaneous >meanings depending on the context. How does a compiler handle >ambiguity? It doesn't. We define the rules so there is no Counterexample: sendmail.cf -> $: (as well as any number of other $ variables) It is, however the exception, not the rule. -Jot