How to replace a string exactly as it is?

Question

Consider the following code:

String str = "folder1;b";
String replacement = "C:\\myfolder";
System.out.println(str.replaceAll("b", replacement));

This printsC:myfolder.
How can I replace str with the replacement string as is? (Without the slashes being removed)
I've tried Pattern.quote(replacement) but that prints \QC:\Development\E

I have no control over replacement which comes from an external source and it is not known what its contents would be.

Answer 1

If you aren't using regular expressions, better to use String.replace():

String str = "folder1;b";
String replacement = "C:\\myfolder";
System.out.println(str.replace("b", replacement));

String.replace() does a literal replacement, it doesn't treat the arguments as regular expressions.

I will point out that you will run into trouble if your str is folder1;bash;b as both of the bs will be replaced.