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Java Escape Characters

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Java Escape Characters

In this section, we will discuss Java escape characters or escape sequences. Also, we will use these escape sequences or characters in a Java program.

What are escape characters?

In Java, if a character is preceded by a backslash () is known as Java escape sequence or escape characters. It may include letters, numerals, punctuations, etc. Remember that escape characters must be enclosed in quotation marks (“”). These are the valid character literals. The Java compiler interprets these characters as a single character that adds a specific meaning to the compiler.

Java Escape Characters

List of Java Escape Characters

In Java, there is a total of eight escape sequences that are described in the following table.

Escape Characters Description
t It is used to insert a tab in the text at this point.
It is used to insert a single quote character in the text at this point.
It is used to insert a double quote character in the text at this point.
r It is used to insert a carriage return in the text at this point.
\ It is used to insert a backslash character in the text at this point.
n It is used to insert a new line in the text at this point.
f It is used to insert a form feed in the text at this point.
b It is used to insert a backspace in the text at this point.

Why do we use escape characters?

Let’s understand the uses of escape characters through the following example. Suppose, we have to print the following statement with double quotes:

The following statements do not print Java enclosed in quotation marks.

While we compile the program with the above two statements, the compiler gives errors, as shown below.

Java Escape Characters

In such a case, the compiler needs to be told that quotation marks do not signal the start or end of a string, but instead are to be printed. The following statement prints statements with quotation marks.

Using Escape Characters in Java Program

EscapeCharaterExample.java

Output:

AndrewGarfield  the best way  to communicate   an idea   is to act it out  AndOr  Carriage  Return  Wall Street's  'TutorAspire'  

Unicode Escape Characters

Java also supports Unicode escape characters. A Unicode escape character consists of a backslash (/) followed by one or more u characters and four hexadecimal digits (uxxxx). Here, uxxxx represents u0000 to uFFFF.

While interpreting the string if the compiler finds something in the Unicode representation, the compiler replaces it with a respective symbol according to the Java specification.

List of Unicode Character or Escape Sequence

The following table describes the widely used Unicode Character Sequence.

Char Unicode Escape Sequence Description
Special Codes
U+0009 u0009 Horizontal Tab
U+000A u000A Line Feed
U+000D u000D Carriage Return / Enter
U+00A0 u00A0 Non-Breaking Space
Symbols Codes
& U+0026 u0026 Ampersand
U+2022 u2022 Bullet
? U+25E6 u25E6 White Bullet
U+2219 u2219 Bullet Operator
U+2023 u2023 Triangular Bullet
U+2043 u2043 Hyphen Bullet
° U+00B0 u00B0 Degree
U+221E u221E Infinity
Currency Codes
$ U+0024 u0024 Dollar
U+20AC u20AC Euro
£ U+00A3 u00A3 Pound
¥ U+00A5 u00A5 Yen / Yuan
¢ U+00A2 u00A2 Cent
U+20B9 u20B9 Indian Rupee
U+20A8 u20A8 Rupee
U+20B1 u20B1 Peso
U+20A9 u20A9 Korean Won
฿ U+0E3F u0E3F Thai Baht
U+20AB u20AB Dong
U+20AA u20AA Shekel
Intellectual Property Codes
© U+00A9 u00A9 Copyright
® U+00AE u00AE Registered Trademark
U+2117 u2117 Sound Recording Copyright
U+2122 u2122 Trademark
U+2120 u2120 Service Mark
Greek Alphabet Codes
α U+03B1 u03B1 Small Alpha
β U+03B2 u03B2 Small Beta
γ U+03B3 u03B3 Small Gamma
δ U+03B4 u03B4 Small Delta
ε U+03B5 u03B5 Small Epsilon
ζ U+03B6 u03B6 Small Zeta
η U+03B7 u03B7 Small Eta
θ U+03B8 u03B8 Small Theta
ι U+03B9 u03B9 Small Iota
κ U+03BA u03BA Small Kappa
λ U+03BB u03BB Small Lambda
μ U+03BC u03BC Small Mu
ν U+03BD u03BD Small Nu
ξ U+03BE u03BE Small Xi
ο U+03BF u03BF Small Omicron
π U+03C0 u03C0 Small Pi
ρ U+03C1 u03C1 Small Rho
σ U+03C3 u03C3 Small Sigma
τ U+03C4 u03C4 Small Tau
υ U+03C5 u03C5 Small Upsilon
φ U+03C6 u03C6 Small Phi
χ U+03C7 u03C7 Small Chi
ψ U+03C8 u03C8 Small Psi
ω U+03C9 u03C9 Small Omega
Α U+0391 u0391 Capital Alpha
Β U+0392 u0392 Capital Beta
Γ U+0393 u0393 Capital Gamma
Δ U+0394 u0394 Capital Delta
Ε U+0395 u0395 Capital Epsilon
Ζ U+0396 u0396 Capital Zeta
Η U+0397 u0397 Capital Eta
Θ U+0398 u0398 Capital Theta
Ι U+0399 u0399 Capital Iota
Κ U+039A u039A Capital Kappa
Λ U+039B u039B Capital Lambda
Μ U+039C u039C Capital Mu
Ν U+039D u039D Capital Nu
Ξ U+039E u039E Capital Xi
Ο U+039F u039F Capital Omicron
Π U+03A0 u03A0 Capital Pi
Ρ U+03A1 u03A1 Capital Rho
Σ U+03A3 u03A3 Capital Sigma
Τ U+03A4 u03A4 Capital Tau
Υ U+03A5 u03A5 Capital Upsilon
Φ U+03A6 u03A6 Capital Phi
Χ U+03A7 u03A7 Capital Chi
Ψ U+03A8 u03A8 Capital Psi
Ω U+03A9 u03A9 Capital Omega

Unicode Character Sequence Example

UnicodeCharacterExample.java

Output:

"Example of Unicode Character Sequence", © 2021 TutorAspire 

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