A backslash is a typographical symbol represented as “\”. It is commonly used in computer programming and file paths to separate directories. For example, in a file path like C:\Users\Documents, the backslash helps to organize the structure of files and folders on a computer. In addition to its use in file paths, the backslash serves various functions in programming languages. It can act as an escape character, allowing special characters to be included in strings. For instance, in Python, using a backslash before a quote can prevent it from ending the string prematurely.