the backspace character

[johnmerlino]

In the following char array, notice the use of a backspace character in a string literal: '\b'.

char text1[50] = "\aHello,\n\tWorld! Mistakee\b was \"Extra 'e'\"!\n";

What exactly does a backspace character do here? When the compiler evaluates this line, does it actually delete the previous character, like when you press the backspace button on the keyboard?

[Zhuge]

No. The compiler just inserts ASCII code 0x08 into the string, which "represents" a backspace. Terminals may interpret that as moving the caret back one space when writing out the string, but I don't think that is a requirement.