Strings – Special Characters
Because strings must be written within quotes, C will misunderstand this string, and generate an error:
char 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:
Example
char txt[] = "We are the so-called \"Vikings\" from the north.";
The sequence \' inserts a single quote in a string:
Example
char txt[] = "It\'s alright.";
The sequence \\ inserts a single backslash in a string:
Example
char txt[] = “The character \\ is called backslash.”;
Other popular escape characters in C are:
| Escape Character | Result |
|---|---|
| \n | New Line |
| \t | Tab |
| \0 | Null |