Lecture 69:-  Escape Sequences And Raw Strings Python

In Python, escape sequences are special sequences of characters that are used to represent certain non-printable or special characters within strings. They are denoted by a backslash \ followed by a specific character. Escape sequences allow you to include characters in strings that would otherwise be challenging to represent directly.

Here are some common escape sequences in Python:

1. Newline \n: Inserts a newline character, which starts a new line.

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print("Line 1\nLine 2") # Output: # Line 1 # Line 2

1. Tab \t: Inserts a horizontal tab (indent).

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print("Name:\tJohn") # Output: # Name:   John

1. Backslash \\: Inserts a single backslash character.

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print("This is a backslash: \\") # Output: # This is a backslash: \

1. Single Quote \': Inserts a single quote character.

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print('He said, \'Hello!\'') # Output: # He said, 'Hello!'

1. Double Quote \": Inserts a double quote character.

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print("She said, \"Hi!\"") # Output: # She said, "Hi!"

If you want to create a string that contains a lot of backslashes, such as regular expressions or file paths, using escape sequences can lead to a lot of backslashes. To avoid this, you can use a "raw string" by prefixing the string with an 'r' or 'R'. Raw strings treat backslashes as regular characters and do not interpret them as escape sequences.

Here's an example of a raw string:

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raw_string = r"C:\Users\Documents\file.txt" print(raw_string) # Output: # C:\Users\Documents\file.txt

In the raw string, the backslashes are treated as regular characters, and you don't need to escape them with additional backslashes.

Escape sequences and raw strings are useful in various situations when dealing with strings, especially when handling paths, regular expressions, or any content that includes special characters. They help to ensure that the strings are interpreted and displayed correctly.