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Java Java Data Structures - Retired Organizing Data Splitting Strings

Nikita Serditov
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Nikita Serditov
Python Web Development Techdegree Student 2,812 Points
Posted by Nikita Serditov
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Nikita Serditov
Python Web Development Techdegree Student 2,812 Points

ERROR: illegal escape character

When I type:

java> description.split("[^\w#@']+");

I get:

ERROR: illegal escape character description.split("[^\w#@']+");;

Previously I had a bash syntax error. Why it does not work like on the video?

2 Answers

Craig Garner
Craig Garner
25,732 Points
Craig Garner
Craig Garner
25,732 Points

Look in the comments right under the video. He explains the need to use \

Brendon Butler
Brendon Butler
4,254 Points
Brendon Butler
Brendon Butler
4,254 Points

Since you have a "\w" in your string, it thinks that you want to use "\w" as an escape character, sort of like "\n" to create a new line. Since there is no "\w" escape character, it doesn't know what to do. To fix this, you'll need to add another "\" before your "\w." That would look something like this:

description.split("[^\\w#@']+");