What are Escape Sequences in C Language?

To modify the format of the output in C language, escape sequences are used. These characters are not displayed in the output. This character always begins with backslash “\”. It is known as an escape character.

Different Escape sequences in C language

Different escape sequences used in C language are as follows:

Escape sequence	purpose
\b	Backspace
\f	Form feed
\n	New line
\r	Carriage return
\t	Tab
\’	Single quote
\”	Double quote
\xdd	ASCII code in hexadecimal notation. Each d represents a digit.
\ddd	ASCII code in octal notation. Each d represents a digit.

\b in C language

This escape sequence is used to insert backspace in the output. An example of this escape sequence is as follows:

Printf(“Hello\bWorld”);

The above example will display HelloWorld. First of all, Hello is printed but /b deletes the letter o. The World is printed. So “HelloWorld” is displayed on the screen.

\f in C language

This escape sequence is used to insert a blank paper into the printed output. It is called form feed. An example of this escape sequence is as follows:

Printf(“Hello\fWorld”);

The above example will display HelloWorld. After printing Hello, it will include a blank of paper and then print the rest of the output. It is used during printing.

 \n in C language

This escape sequence is used to insert a new line in the output. An example of this escape sequence is as follows:

Printf(“Hello\nWorld”)

The above example will display Hello in one line and World in the next line. First of all, Hello is printed, and \n moves the cursor to the next line Then World is printed.

\r in C language

This escape sequence is used to move the cursor at the beginning of the current line. It is known as a carriage return. An example of this escape sequence is as follows

printf (“Hello\rWorld”);

The above example will display World. First of all. Hello is printed but \r moves the cursor at the beginning of the current line. The World is printed that overwrites Hello. So only World is displayed on the screen.

\t in C language

This escape sequence is used to insert a TAB in the output. An example of this escape sequence is as follows:

Printf (“Hello\tWorld”).

The above example will display Hello   World.  First of all, Hello is printed and \t inserts a TAB. Then the World is printed.

\‘ in C language

This escape sequence is used to display single quotes in the output. An example of this escape sequence is as follows:

Printf(“\’Hello World\’ “);

The above example will display “Hello World”

\” in C language

In this escape, sequence double quotes are displayed in the output. An example of this escape sequence is as follows:

Printf(“\”Hello World\” “);

The above example will display “Hello World”

\\ in C language

To display the backslash (\) in the output, \\ is used. An example of this escape sequence is as follows:

printf (“C:||”);

The above example will display C:\.

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