Strings - Special Characters
Because strings must be written within quotes, Java will misunderstand this string, and generate an error:
String txt = "We are the so-called "Vikings" from the north.";The solution to avoid this problem, is to use the backslash escape character .
The backslash ( \ ) escape character turns special characters into string characters:
| Escape character | Result | Description |
|---|---|---|
| \' | ' | Single quote |
| \" | " | Double quote |
| \\ | \ | Backslash |
String txt = "We are the so-called \"Vikings\" from the north.";String txt = "It\'s alright.";String txt = "The character \\ is called backslash.";Other common escape sequences that are valid in Java are:
| Code | Result |
|---|---|
| \n | New Line |
| \t | Tab |
| \b | Backspace |
| \r | Carriage Return |
| \f | Form Feed |
Note
Most of these escape codes are rarely used in modern programming. The most common ones are \n (new line), \" (double quote), and \\ (backslash).