USE ESCAPE CODES

Notice the \n in the alert message code in the preceding example. This is a JavaScript escape code that creates a new line in the output. All Web programming languages include escape codes so that special characters can be used. In JavaScript, escape codes are preceded by a backslash. This tells the JavaScript interpreter that you want the character(s) following the backslash to be treated in a special way.

JavaScript escape codes include the following:

  • \b: backspace
  • \n: new line
  • \": double quote
  • \': single quote

The escape codes for quotations are the ones you'll use most frequently. Because pairs of quotation marks (either double or single) are used to delineate the beginning and end of strings, you need some way to include quotation marks within strings without causing a premature end to the string. If you want, for example, to quote a word within a string, you would use the following:

alert ("Don't you want to do the \"right\" thing?");