Escape Characters

Sometimes you want to output something that cannot simply be typed as-is inside a string — for example a line break in the middle of a sentence, or a quotation mark. For this, C++ has "escape characters": a backslash (\) followed by a letter that has a special meaning.

std::cout << "First line\nSecond line" << std::endl;

// Output:
// First line
// Second line

The escape character ____ produces a line break in the middle of a string.

The escape character \t produces a tab — a larger, even amount of spacing. This lets you roughly align text into columns.

std::cout << "Name:\tMax" << std::endl;
std::cout << "Age:\t17" << std::endl;

// Output:
// Name:   Max
// Age:    17

What is the escape character \t used for?

If you want to output a regular quotation mark in the middle of a string, there is a problem: C++ would think the string ends there. The solution is \" — an "escaped" quotation mark that is treated as plain text instead of the end of the string.

std::cout << "She said: \"C++ is powerful!\"" << std::endl;

// Output:
// She said: "C++ is powerful!"

To output a quotation mark inside a string, you write \" instead of just ".

And what if you want to output a backslash itself — for example in a file path? Since a single backslash normally starts an escape sequence, you have to double it: \\.

std::cout << "The path is: C:\\Users\\Ada" << std::endl;

// Output:
// The path is: C:\Users\Ada