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I have a colleague who keeps confusing slashes "slash" and "backslash" (As in: "Should I escape such-and-such with a slash?" My answer: "No.")
I'm trying to teach him the difference but so far just telling him the name of the symbol doesn't seem to stick. That's why I'm trying find a good mnemonic to help him remember, but I can't think of one.
I have seen the following:
/ is like a guy leaning forward
\ is like a guy leaning BACKward
But that requires you to remember that the guy is facing right, which just shifts the burden of remembering one arbitrary datum to remembering another arbitrary datum. (Case in point: when I told him that mnemonic, his response was "Oh yes, I see. But that only works if I remember that the guy is walking to the left." D'oh!)
So, is there a more easily remembered mnemonic for slash-vs-backslash? Perhaps one that relates to real-world experience?
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Use this: A line was standing up. If it fell forwards, it's a forward slash, if it fell backward it's a backslash.
Summary: The Backslash and Forward Slash Make sure to remember the following: The backslash (\) is mostly used in computing and isn't a punctuation mark. The forward slash (/) can be used in place of “or” in less formal writing. It's also used to write dates, fractions, abbreviations, and URLs.
It is called a backslash because it is usually made with a back motion, starting at its top and pulled down and back. Occasionally it was simply called a slash.
Alternatively referred to as a backward slash, downward slash, and reverse solidus, the backslash is a character ( \ ) first introduced by Bob Bemer in 1960. Although "slash" is most often used to describe the forward slash, it can describe either a forward slash or backslash.
To type the Forward Slash symbol on your keyboard, press and hold the Alt key and type the Forward Slash alt code which is 47 on the numeric keypad, then release the alt key. For Mac users, press on your keyboard, Option + Shift + 1.
Use this: A line was standing up. If it fell forwards, it's a forward slash, if it fell backward it's a backslash.
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On my keyboard, the BACKslash key is right below the BACKspace key.
And slaSH is right next to SHift.
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The top of a backslash points to the back. (when reading left-to-right, as English is read)
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