A backslash is the regular-expression character used to escape characters with special meaning or represent a literal backslash.
In regular expressions, the backslash is the escape character. Place it before a character with special meaning to make that character literal. section 21.2
Matching literal punctuation
The pattern \\. matches a literal period instead of any single character. To match a literal backslash, escape it with another backslash: \\\\. section 21.2
How Learn PowerShell in a Month of Lunches: Fourth Edition, Covers Windows, Linux, and macOS covers it
How deep it goes
Defines escaping and demonstrates periods and backslashes, while stopping short of broader regex implementation details.
Examples
Demonstrates matching a literal period and matching a literal backslash.
What it assumes
Assumes basic regular-expression syntax and explains escaping through concrete punctuation examples.
What you can do after
Apply it via regular expressions to match characters that would otherwise act as syntax.
How it connects
Connects escaping with regular expressions, special characters, literal characters, quantifiers, and anchors.
The Quick Python Book, Fourth EditionA backslash is the character used in Python string literals and regular-expression patterns to introduce escape sequences or special interpretations.
100 Java Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemA backslash is an escape character used by Java string literals and by regular-expression syntax to alter the interpretation of the following character.
escape sequenceused by · An escape sequence is source notation, typically using an escape marker, that represents a character or control value or changes how characters are interpreted.
regular expressionused by · A formal pattern notation that describes sets of strings and enables text to be matched, searched, extracted, or transformed.
stringuses · A string is a programming-language value representing an ordered sequence of characters or character units as text.
metacharacterimplements · A regular-expression metacharacter is a character with special syntactic or matching meaning rather than a purely literal meaning.
raw string literalalternative to · A raw string literal is a string-literal syntax that treats most backslashes and other contents literally, reducing ordinary escape processing.
This explainer was generated by Manning's knowledge graph from the text of Learn PowerShell in a Month of Lunches: Fourth Edition, Covers Windows, Linux, and macOS. The section links point to the parts of the book it draws on.
