Question

What is the meaning of \(\backslash \mathrm{n}\) as used in the following statement (which appears in Display 1.8 )? cout \(<<\) "Enter the number of peas in a pod: \(\backslash n "\)

Short answer

Answer: The symbol "\n" in the given C++ statement is an escape sequence that represents a newline character. When encountered in a text string, it causes a line break and moves the cursor to a new line. In the given statement, the use of "\n" causes the output cursor to go to the next line after displaying the text, making subsequent output appear on a new line and keeping the output organized and easier to read.

Step-by-step solution

Understanding the statement

The given statement is part of a C++ program, specifically it is a cout statement which is responsible for printing output on the screen. The statement is written as: cout << "Enter the number of peas in a pod: \n"; This statement will display the text "Enter the number of peas in a pod:" and then the symbol "\n" will cause the output to be affected.

Meaning of \n

In C++, the symbol \n is an escape sequence. Escape sequences are special characters used to represent non-printable characters or to perform specific actions when used in a text string. The escape sequence \n is used to represent a newline character. This means that when it is encountered in a text string, it causes a line break at that point and moves the cursor to a new line.

Effects of \n in the given statement

In the given statement: cout << "Enter the number of peas in a pod: \n"; The \n character is placed at the end of the text string "Enter the number of peas in a pod:". Therefore, after displaying this text, the output cursor will go to the next line. This means that any subsequent output will be displayed starting from the new line, making the output more organized and easier to read.