Java Special Characters
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 |
The sequence \" inserts a double quote in a string:
The sequence \' inserts a single quote in a string:
The sequence \\ inserts a single backslash in a string:
Other common escape sequences that are valid in Java are:
| Code | Result | Try it |
|---|---|---|
| \n | New Line | Try it » |
| \t | Tab | Try it » |
| \b | Backspace | Try it » |
| \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).
