TeXipedia

backslash

Produces a literal backslash character in mathematical or text mode, commonly needed when displaying programming syntax or file paths.

Overview

Essential for displaying technical content that requires literal backslashes, particularly in computer science and programming contexts.

  • Frequently used when showing file paths in Windows systems
  • Necessary for displaying programming language syntax that uses backslashes
  • Important for documenting LaTeX commands themselves
  • Helps distinguish between command markers and actual backslash characters in technical documentation

Examples

Displaying a literal backslash character in an equation.

f(x)={x\y:x>0}f(x) = \{x \backslash y : x > 0\} 
f(x) = \{x \backslash y : x > 0\}

Showing a path or directory structure in mathematics.

Path=C:\directory\file\text{Path} = C:\backslash\text{directory}\backslash\text{file} 
\text{Path} = C:\backslash\text{directory}\backslash\text{file}

Representing set difference operation with backslash notation.

A\B={x∈A:x∉B}A \backslash B = \{x \in A : x \notin B\} 
A \backslash B = \{x \in A : x \notin B\}