That is why it has gained the name backslash. As you can see, the upper end of the backslash leans backwards. In fact, this slash tells that you are indicating to something separate and external to your system, such as the name of the website.Ī backslash is a slash that leans backward and is used as a symbol in computer programming. When it comes to computing, slash or forward slash is mostly used in URL addresses. This is the only symbol of the two, slash and backslash, known to writing. The slash marks a difference between the two words or phrases that you are dividing by using it. In writing we use slash instead of writing the word ‘or.’ For example, saying he or she is the same as saying he/she. That is why it is known as a forward slash too. As you can see, the upper end of a slash leans forward. To begin with, a forward slash or slash is a common punctuation mark used in English language. Thus, we see that apart from very ostensible differences between slash and backward slash, there are many more differences that will be discussed in this article.
It is an important key in computer terminology, which finds several uses in different operating systems. However, there is another slash, the backward slash that is used mainly in computing and anyone who has used computers or written a text on a word processor knows it is there on the keyboard above the Enter key. In fact, there are numerous uses of this forward slash. It is used in English language frequently in place of hyphen, also to place a gap between two alphabets or words. We have all been aware of slash, or, as it is today called to differentiate with backward slash, a forward slash. However, there is a huge difference between them in usage as they are used for a variety of purposes and refer to different things in different contexts. Visually identifying the difference between slash and backslash is quite easy as the former leans forward while the other leans backward.