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Path.AltDirectorySeparatorChar Field

  • Reference

Definition

Namespace:
System.IO
Assembly:
System.Runtime.Extensions.dll
Assembly:
System.Runtime.dll
Assembly:
mscorlib.dll
Assembly:
netstandard.dll
Source:
Path.cs
Source:
Path.cs
Source:
Path.cs

Provides a platform-specific alternate character used to separate directory levels in a path string that reflects a hierarchical file system organization.

public: static initonly char AltDirectorySeparatorChar;
public static readonly char AltDirectorySeparatorChar;
 staticval mutable AltDirectorySeparatorChar : char
Public Shared ReadOnly AltDirectorySeparatorChar As Char

Field Value

Char

Examples

The following example displays Path field values on Windows and on Unix-based systems. Note that Windows supports either the forward slash (which is returned by the AltDirectorySeparatorChar field) or the backslash (which is returned by the DirectorySeparatorChar field) as path separator characters, while Unix-based systems support only the forward slash.

using System;
using System.IO;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        Console.WriteLine($"Path.DirectorySeparatorChar: '{Path.DirectorySeparatorChar}'");
        Console.WriteLine($"Path.AltDirectorySeparatorChar: '{Path.AltDirectorySeparatorChar}'");
        Console.WriteLine($"Path.PathSeparator: '{Path.PathSeparator}'");
        Console.WriteLine($"Path.VolumeSeparatorChar: '{Path.VolumeSeparatorChar}'");
        var invalidChars = Path.GetInvalidPathChars();
        Console.WriteLine($"Path.GetInvalidPathChars:");
        for (int ctr = 0; ctr < invalidChars.Length; ctr++) 
        {
            Console.Write($"  U+{Convert.ToUInt16(invalidChars[ctr]):X4} ");
            if ((ctr + 1) % 10 == 0) Console.WriteLine();
        }
        Console.WriteLine();
    }
}
// The example displays the following output when run on a Windows system:
//    Path.DirectorySeparatorChar: '\'
//    Path.AltDirectorySeparatorChar: '/'
//    Path.PathSeparator: ';'
//    Path.VolumeSeparatorChar: ':'
//    Path.GetInvalidPathChars:
//      U+007C)   U+0000)   U+0001)   U+0002)   U+0003)   U+0004)   U+0005)   U+0006)   U+0007)   U+0008)
//      U+0009)   U+000A)   U+000B)   U+000C)   U+000D)   U+000E)   U+000F)   U+0010)   U+0011)   U+0012)
//      U+0013)   U+0014)   U+0015)   U+0016)   U+0017)   U+0018)   U+0019)   U+001A)   U+001B)   U+001C)
//      U+001D)   U+001E)   U+001F)
//
// The example displays the following output when run on a Linux system:
//    Path.DirectorySeparatorChar: '/'
//    Path.AltDirectorySeparatorChar: '/'
//    Path.PathSeparator: ':'
//    Path.VolumeSeparatorChar: '/'
//    Path.GetInvalidPathChars:
//      U+0000

Imports System.IO

Module Program
    Sub Main()
       Console.WriteLine($"Path.DirectorySeparatorChar: '{Path.DirectorySeparatorChar}'")
        Console.WriteLine($"Path.AltDirectorySeparatorChar: '{Path.AltDirectorySeparatorChar}'")
        Console.WriteLine($"Path.PathSeparator: '{Path.PathSeparator}'")
        Console.WriteLine($"Path.VolumeSeparatorChar: '{Path.VolumeSeparatorChar}'")
        Dim invalidChars = Path.GetInvalidPathChars()
        Console.WriteLine($"Path.GetInvalidPathChars:")
        For ctr As Integer = 0 To invalidChars.Length - 1 
            Console.Write($"  U+{Convert.ToUInt16(invalidChars(ctr)):X4} ")
            if (ctr + 1) Mod 10 = 0 Then Console.WriteLine()
        Next
        Console.WriteLine()
        Console.WriteLine("Hello World!")
    End Sub
End Module
' The example displays the following output when run on a Windows system:
'    Path.DirectorySeparatorChar: '\'
'    Path.AltDirectorySeparatorChar: '/'
'    Path.PathSeparator: ';'
'    Path.VolumeSeparatorChar: ':'
'    Path.GetInvalidPathChars:
'      U+007C)   U+0000)   U+0001)   U+0002)   U+0003)   U+0004)   U+0005)   U+0006)   U+0007)   U+0008)
'      U+0009)   U+000A)   U+000B)   U+000C)   U+000D)   U+000E)   U+000F)   U+0010)   U+0011)   U+0012)
'      U+0013)   U+0014)   U+0015)   U+0016)   U+0017)   U+0018)   U+0019)   U+001A)   U+001B)   U+001C)
'      U+001D)   U+001E)   U+001F)
'
' The example displays the following output when run on a Linux system:
'    Path.DirectorySeparatorChar: '/'
'    Path.AltDirectorySeparatorChar: '/'
'    Path.PathSeparator: ':'
'    Path.VolumeSeparatorChar: '/'
'    Path.GetInvalidPathChars:
'      U+0000

Remarks

This field can have the same value as DirectorySeparatorChar. AltDirectorySeparatorChar and DirectorySeparatorChar are both valid for separating directory levels in a path string.

The value of this field is a slash ('/') on both Windows and Unix-based operating systems.

Applies to

See also