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What does "caret" mean in programming?
caret is one of the most common terms in software development. This guide explains what it means, how it is used in practice, and why it matters, with real examples from the developer world.
Definition
The ^ character. Used as a bitwise XOR operator in most languages, and in regular expressions to anchor a match at the start of a string. In npm/package.json it also means 'compatible version'.
Example
"In regex, ^admin matches strings that start with 'admin'."
Related terms
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