Escape sequence

Definition

An escape sequence is a series of characters used to represent special characters in a string. It typically begins with a backslash followed by one or more characters.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. Escape sequences are used to include special characters like newline (\n) and tab (\t) within strings.
2. The backslash (\\) itself can be represented using the escape sequence \\\\.
3. Common escape sequences include \n for newline, \t for tab, and \' for a single quote.
4. Escape sequences are interpreted during the string parsing phase in Python.
5. String literals prefixed with 'r' or 'R' will treat backslashes as literal characters, preventing escape sequences from being processed.

Review Questions

• What is the purpose of an escape sequence in a string?
• How would you include a tab character within a Python string?
• What is the difference between a normal string and a raw string when it comes to escape sequences?

Related terms

Raw String: A string literal in Python prefixed with 'r' or 'R' that treats backslashes as literal characters.

Concatenation: The operation of joining two strings together using the '+' operator.

String Literal: A sequence of characters enclosed in quotes, representing constant text.