The Stream Insertion Operator and Escape Sequences

In the context of an output statement, the << operator is referred to as the stream insertion operator. When this program executes, the value to the operator’s right, the right operand, is inserted in the output stream. Notice that the operator points in the direction of where the data goes. A string literal’s characters normally print exactly as they appear between the double quotes. However, the characters are not printed on the screen (Fig. 2.1). The backslash () is called an escape character. It indicates that a “special” character is to be output. When a backslash is encountered in a string of characters, the next character is combined with the backslash to form an escape sequence. The escape sequence means newline. It causes the screen cursor to move to the beginning of the next line on the screen. Some common escape sequences are listed in Fig. 2.2.

Fig. 2.2. Escape sequences.