Raw Strings

Raw strings in Internet Object

A Raw String in Internet Object is a sequence of Unicode codepoints prefixed with r or R and enclosed in either single quotes (' U+0027) or double quotes (" U+0022). Raw strings are ideal for text containing many backslashes, quotes, or structural characters, such as file paths or regular expressions. They do not support escape sequences except for the enclosing quote, which can be represented by doubling the enclosing quote character inside the string.

Raw strings are scalar values. They preserve all content as written, including whitespace, newlines, and Unicode characters.

Syntax

A raw string is prefixed with r or R and enclosed in either single or double quotes. The only special rule is that the enclosing quote character inside the string must be represented as two consecutive enclosing quotes.

rawString = "r" (singleQuotedRaw | doubleQuotedRaw)
singleQuotedRaw = "'" { character | doubleSingleQuote } "'"
doubleQuotedRaw = '"' { character | doubleDoubleQuote } '"'
character = any Unicode codepoint except the enclosing quote
doubleSingleQuote = "''" (represents a single quote inside a single-quoted raw string)
doubleDoubleQuote = '""' (represents a double quote inside a double-quoted raw string)

Structural Characters

The following characters are used to structure raw strings:

Symbol

Name

Unicode

Description

r

Raw Prefix

U+0072

Indicates raw string type

'

Single Quote

U+0027

Encloses string, doubled inside for escape

"

Double Quote

U+0022

Encloses string, doubled inside for escape

(space, tab, etc.)

Whitespace

Multiple

Preserved as written

Any

Any Unicode codepoint

Multiple

Allowed, except unescaped enclosing quote

Note: The reverse solidus (\\ U+005C) is always treated as a literal character in raw strings—there is no escaping with backslash.

Valid Forms

Examples of valid raw strings:

r'C:\program files\example\app.exe'
r"C:\program files\example\app.exe"
r'^(19|20)\d\d([- /.])(0[1-9]|1[012])\2(0[1-9]|[12][0-9]|3[01])$'
r"^(19|20)\d\d([- /.])(0[1-9]|1[012])\2(0[1-9]|[12][0-9]|3[01])$"
r'जॉन डो'
r"Can contain Ucharacters 😃"
r'A Unicode string (😃) which does not force you to escape\ncharacters like \, \n or anything except a single quote char ''''.'
r"A Unicode string (😃) which does not force you to escape\ncharacters like \, \n or anything except a double quote char \"\"."
r'Jonas D''costa'  # Contains a single quote inside
r"He said, ""Hello!"""  # Contains a double quote inside

Optional Behaviors

Whitespace: Leading, trailing, and internal whitespace are preserved.
No Escaping: No escape sequences are supported except for doubling the enclosing quote to represent it inside the string.
Multiline: Newline and carriage return characters are preserved.

Comments

Comments are not allowed within raw strings, but may appear outside or between values as per Internet Object comment rules.

Invalid Forms

Examples of invalid raw strings:

rC:\program files\example\app.exe     # ✗ Missing quotes (should be r'...') or r"..."
r'Jonas D'costa'                      # ✗ Unescaped single quote inside (should be r'Jonas D''costa')
r"He said, "Hello!""                  # ✗ Unescaped double quote inside (should be r"He said, ""Hello!"")
r'Unclosed string                     # ✗ Missing closing quote
r'Contains \\ escapes'                # ✗ Backslash is not an escape, just literal

Preservation of Structure

Internet Object preserves:

All Unicode codepoints and whitespace as written
The use of doubled enclosing quotes for embedded quotes

It does not interpret or enforce:

Application-specific constraints
Escaping beyond doubled enclosing quotes