Using / or \\ for folder paths in C#

Question

When writing file paths in C#, I found that I can either write something like \"C:\\\" or \"C:/\" and get the same path. Which one is recommended? I heard somewhere that usi

Answer 1

Windows supports both path separators, so both will work, at least for local paths (/ won't work for network paths). The thing is that there is no actual benefit of using the working but non standard path separator (/) on Windows, especially because you can use the verbatim string literal:

string path = @"C:\"  //Look ma, no escape

The only case where I could see a benefit of using the / separator is when you'll work with relative paths only and will use the code in Windows and Linux. Then you can have "../foo/bar/baz" point to the same directory. But even in this case is better to leave the System.IO namespace (Path.DirectorySeparatorChar, Path.Combine) to take care of such issues.

Answer 2

Use Path.Combine and you don't need to worry about such semantics.

Answer 3

This isn't a C# issue - it's a Windows issue. Paths in Windows are normally shown with a backslash: C:. In my opinion, that's what you should use in C#. Use @"C:\" to prevent special handling of backslaash characters.

Answer 4

Please use Path.DirectorySeparatorChar OR better, as Poita suggested use Path.Combine.

Answer 5

I write paths in C# like this:

@"C:\My\Path"

The @ character turns off \ escaping.