C Special Characters

🔣 C Special Characters (Escape Sequences) – Complete Guide

In C language, special characters (also called escape sequences) are used to represent non-printable characters or to give special meaning inside strings and character literals.

They always start with a backslash (\).

1️⃣ What Are Special Characters in C?

Special characters are escape sequences that tell the compiler to perform a special action, such as a new line, tab, beep sound, etc.

Example:

Output:

2️⃣ Most Common Special Characters ⭐

3️⃣ \n – New Line (Most Used)

Output:

✔ Moves cursor to next line

4️⃣ \t – Tab Space

Output:

✔ Adds horizontal spacing

5️⃣ \\ – Backslash

Output:

✔ Required because \ is escape starter

6️⃣ \" and \' – Quotes Inside String

7️⃣ \b – Backspace

Output:

✔ Removes previous character

8️⃣ \r – Carriage Return ⚠️

Output (system dependent):

✔ Cursor returns to beginning of line

9️⃣ \0 – Null Character (Very Important ⭐)

✔ Marks end of string
✔ Used internally by all C strings

🔟 Octal Escape Sequences

✔ Output: A
(101 is octal for ASCII 65)

1️⃣1️⃣ Hexadecimal Escape Sequences

✔ Output: A
(41 is hex for ASCII 65)

1️⃣2️⃣ Special Characters vs Normal Characters

✔ Different meanings

1️⃣3️⃣ Common Mistakes ❌

❌ Forgetting \
❌ Using \n outside string or char
❌ Confusing \0 with '0'
❌ Expecting \b to work in all terminals

📌 Interview Questions (Very Important)

1. What is \n in C?

2. Difference between \0 and '0'

3. Why \\ is used?

4. What is escape sequence?

5. What happens if \0 is missing in string?

🔥 Real-Life Use Cases

• Formatting output

• String handling

• File writing

• Console UI alignment

• Embedded & system programming

✅ Summary

✔ Special characters start with \
✔ Used for formatting & control
✔ \n and \t are most common
✔ \0 terminates strings
✔ Must-know for interviews & real coding