# Is there any use for the backslash besides DOS path names? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 17, 2001, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-use-for-the-backslash-besides-dos-path-names/58322 "2001-03-17T02:06:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2001, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-use-for-the-backslash-besides-dos-path-names/58322/1 "2001-03-17T02:06:42Z")
There had to be a reason it was put on the keyboard in the first place, right? ---
**Author:** ![Montfort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Montfort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Montfort)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2001, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-use-for-the-backslash-besides-dos-path-names/58322/2 "2001-03-17T02:21:41Z")
I can’t answer the OP, but I will add that Paul Allen (of Portland Trailblazers, Seattle Seahawks, and the EMP fame) takes credit for requiring a \ in DOS path names. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecccb3/32.png) [@Lord\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Jim)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2001, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-use-for-the-backslash-besides-dos-path-names/58322/3 "2001-03-17T02:34:58Z")
I think that the only reason it is one the keyboard is to use in path names. DOS’s use of backslashes instead of forward slashes started from the very inception of DOS. Along with making path names case insensitive, they were part of the early ideas to differentiate it from Unix and claim to be more user friendly. Of course, you couldn’t do things like //////\ or /////\\\ (I know SpiderWoman couldn’t live without them). Jim ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2001, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-use-for-the-backslash-besides-dos-path-names/58322/4 "2001-03-17T02:56:20Z")
[HOW ASCII GOT ITS BACKSLASH](http://www.bobbemer.com/BACSLASH.HTM) ---
**Author:** ![johnson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@johnson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnson)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2001, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-use-for-the-backslash-besides-dos-path-names/58322/5 "2001-03-17T02:58:19Z")
Well, it’s also used for QuickWords in WordPerfect… ---
**Author:** ![cameron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e79b87/32.png) [@cameron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cameron)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2001, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-use-for-the-backslash-besides-dos-path-names/58322/6 "2001-03-17T03:02:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Montfort \* > \*\*I can’t answer the OP, but I will add that Paul Allen (of Portland Trailblazers, Seattle Seahawks, and the EMP fame) takes credit for requiring a \ in DOS path names. \*\* IIRC, DOS originally did not have hierarchical directories. Forward slash was used for options on commands, similar to dashes in Unix. Later, when hierarchical directories were added, the forward slash was already used. It is still annoying however. ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2001, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-use-for-the-backslash-besides-dos-path-names/58322/7 "2001-03-17T03:28:07Z")
–🙂 ////\\ (or something like that) Spider Woman wouldn’t be the same without it. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2001, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-use-for-the-backslash-besides-dos-path-names/58322/8 "2001-03-17T05:19:16Z")
The backslash is also used as a “not” character in a few places. REXX, for example, may be ported between ASCII and EBCDIC platforms. While EBCDIC had a “not” character for use in COBOL and a few other applications (it appears as a hyphen with a short, downward tail on the right side and its keystroke was SHIFT+6, where the carat is on ASCII keyboards), that character does not appear in ASCII, so the backslash was included in the REXX character set. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2001, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-use-for-the-backslash-besides-dos-path-names/58322/9 "2001-03-17T05:24:50Z")
Integer division in BASIC, ie: 9\2=4 (the remainder is discarded) ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2001, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-use-for-the-backslash-besides-dos-path-names/58322/10 "2001-03-17T05:59:45Z")
A backslash is used in the C language for escaping certain characters in string and character literals. ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Cool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecb155/32.png) [@Joe\_Cool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Cool)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2001, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-use-for-the-backslash-besides-dos-path-names/58322/11 "2001-03-17T06:18:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dtilque \* > \*\*A backslash is used in the C language for escaping certain characters in string and character literals. \*\* also in PERL, in Regular Expressions, and in UNIX Shells. ---
**Author:** ![Bboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ea924/32.png) [@Bboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bboy)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2001, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-use-for-the-backslash-besides-dos-path-names/58322/12 "2001-03-17T07:27:24Z")
```auto ________ ______ ______ __________ / |\ / __/|/ _ ' / /|/ /| / |\| \\/___ /| / | | | |--\/ //\// / / / / / | | | D |\_/ /|_|/ / -- | |\--/ || \\_ / / / / / / -- | | - // / / / / __//|_| |/___ //\ ___//_/ /_/ / /__ //|_| |_|\_\\/_/ / \ __\|\__ \|\ ___/ \__ /\_\/\_\/ \ __\|\__ \|\_\\_\\_\/ ``` which I’ll admit, I suck at. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2001, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-use-for-the-backslash-besides-dos-path-names/58322/13 "2001-03-17T13:10:36Z")
Backslashes are often used to delimit comments in computer code, for example \ At the beginning of a line, or \* with an asterisk to form left and right delimiters \*\