An identifier is a name that appears in a program.

A symbol is an object representing a string that cannot be modified. This string is called the symbol’s name. Unlike strings, two symbols whose names are spelled the same way are indistinguishable. A symbol is immutable (unmodifiable) and normally viewed as atomic. Symbols are useful for many applications; for instance, they may be used the way enumerated values are used in other languages.

In addition to the simple symbols of standard Scheme, Kawa also has compound (two-part) symbols.