raw string literals - chunhualiao/public-docs GitHub Wiki

R"( ... )"

• This is a raw string literal introduced in C++11.

• Normal string literals ("...") require escaping of special characters:

  • "\n" for newline
  • "\t" for tab
  • "\\" for backslash
  • "\"" for a quote

• With a raw string literal (R"( ... )"), the compiler takes the contents literally, without interpreting escape sequences.

• Newlines, quotes, indentation, and backslashes are all preserved exactly.

Example:

const char* raw = R"(line1
line2 "quoted text" \ no escapes here
)";

👉 In practice, this is often used for:

• Embedding long documentation or help text in source code.
• Storing SQL queries, JSON, or regex patterns.
• Avoiding messy \n and \" in big string literals.