Printing Literals and Escape Sequences
Most literal characters to be printed in a printf statement can simply be included in the format string. However, there are several "problem" characters, such as the quotation mark (") that delimits the format string itself. Various control characters, such as newline and tab, must be represented by escape sequences. An escape sequence is represented by a backslash (), followed by an escape character. Figure 28.23 lists the escape sequences and the actions they cause.
|
Escape sequence |
Description |
|---|---|
|
' (single quote) |
Output the single quote (') character. |
|
" (double quote) |
Output the double quote (") character. |
|
\ (backslash) |
Output the backslash () character. |
|
(backspace) |
Move the cursor back one position on the current line. |
|
f (new page or form feed) |
Move the cursor to the start of the next logical page. |
|
(newline) |
Move the cursor to the beginning of the next line. |
|
(carriage return) |
Move the cursor to the beginning of the current line. |
|
(horizontal tab) |
Move the cursor to the next horizontal tab position. |
Common Programming Error 28.4
|
Attempting to print as literal data in a printf statement a double quote or backslash character without preceding that character with a backslash to form a proper escape sequence might result in a syntax error. |