Raw string literal
A raw string literal is a string-literal syntax that treats most backslashes and other contents literally, reducing ordinary escape processing.
The Quick Python Book, Fourth Edition
A raw string literal is a Python string literal in which backslashes are generally treated as literal characters rather than introducing escape sequences.
- How it is used
- Prevents Python from interpreting backslashes too early in regex patterns and Python code written to a file.
- How deep it goes
- Explains prefix syntax, quoting options, string comparisons, and two-stage regex interpretation, without detailing every raw-string edge case.
- Examples
- Contrasts printed raw and ordinary strings, compiles a regex matching a literal backslash, and repairs a generated module.
- What you can do after
- Apply it via Python’s `re` module to write patterns without extra string-level escaping, or preserve backslashes in generated code.
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Natural Language Processing in Action, Second Edition
A Python string literal in which backslashes are preserved rather than normally interpreted as escape sequences.
- How it is used
- Simplifies writing regular expressions by preserving backslashes for the regular-expression parser.
- How deep it goes
- Defines backslash preservation and contrasts raw patterns with doubled escapes, without detailing string-parser internals.
- Examples
- Uses whitespace matching, literal curly braces, greeting patterns, and compiled regular expressions as examples.
- What you can do after
- Apply raw string literals to write more readable Python regular-expression patterns with unmodified backslashes.
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100 C++ Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
A raw string is a C++ string literal whose contents are written without interpreting ordinary escape sequences.
- How it is used
- Uses raw string literals to keep regular-expression patterns readable when C++ escaping would obscure the intended match.
- How deep it goes
- Explains R"(... )" delimiters and contrasts raw and escaped backslash patterns through concrete code.
- Examples
- Uses escaped and raw patterns for matching backslashes, plus an email-validation regular expression.
- What you can do after
- Apply it via C++ syntax to write more readable regular-expression patterns.
Read how 100 C++ Mistakes and How to Avoid Them explains raw string literal →
Related concepts
- string literalkind of · A string literal is source-code notation that directly represents a string value.
- stringkind of · A string is a programming-language value representing an ordered sequence of characters or character units as text.
- regular expressionuses · A formal pattern notation that describes sets of strings and enables text to be matched, searched, extracted, or transformed.
- escape sequencecontrasts with · An escape sequence is source notation, typically using an escape marker, that represents a character or control value or changes how characters are interpreted.
- newlinecontrasts with · A newline is a character or character sequence that marks the boundary between consecutive lines of text.
- f-stringcontrasts with · An f-string is a Python formatted string literal that evaluates embedded expressions and inserts their formatted values into the resulting string.
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