> String literals, interpolation, escape sequences, and common operations in Jitzu.

# Strings

Strings in Jitzu are UTF-8 text. You can create them with double quotes or backtick template literals.

## String Literals

```jitzu
let greeting = "Hello, world!"
print(greeting)
```

### Escape Sequences

```jitzu
print("Hello\\nWorld")   // newline
print("Hello\\tWorld")   // tab
print("She said \\"hi\\"") // escaped quotes
print("Path: C:\\\\Users") // backslash
```

## String Interpolation

Backtick strings support `{expression}` interpolation. Any expression works inside the braces.

```jitzu
let name = "Simon"
let age = 30

// Variable interpolation
print(\`Hello, {name}!\`)           // "Hello, Simon!"

// Expression interpolation
print(\`Next year: {age + 1}\`)     // "Next year: 31"
print(\`1 + 1 = {1 + 1}\`)          // "1 + 1 = 2"

// Nested field access
let user = { name = "Alice", score = 95 }
print(\`{user.name} scored {user.score}\`)
```

## Concatenation

```jitzu
let first = "Hello"
let second = " World"
let combined = first + second
print(combined)  // "Hello World"

// You can also concatenate numbers with strings
let count = 5
print(count + " items")  // "5 items"
```

## String Comparison

Comparisons are case-sensitive:

```jitzu
let a = "Alice"
let b = "alice"
print(a == b)   // false
print(a != b)   // true
```

## .NET String Methods

Since Jitzu runs on .NET, you can call any `System.String` method directly using PascalCase:

```jitzu
let text = "  Hello, World!  "

// Case conversion
print(text.ToUpper())        // "  HELLO, WORLD!  "
print(text.ToLower())        // "  hello, world!  "

// Trimming whitespace
print(text.Trim())           // "Hello, World!"
print(text.TrimStart())      // "Hello, World!  "
print(text.TrimEnd())        // "  Hello, World!"

// Searching
let msg = "Hello, World!"
print(msg.Contains("World")) // true
print(msg.StartsWith("He"))  // true
print(msg.EndsWith("!"))     // true
print(msg.IndexOf("World"))  // 7

// Splitting and joining
let csv = "one,two,three"
let parts = csv.Split(",")   // ["one", "two", "three"]

// Replacing
let replaced = msg.Replace("World", "Jitzu")
print(replaced)              // "Hello, Jitzu!"

// Substring
print(msg.Substring(0, 5))   // "Hello"

// Length
print(msg.Length)             // 13
```

## Multi-line Strings

```jitzu
let poem = "Roses are red,\\nViolets are blue,\\nJitzu is fun,\\nAnd so are you."
print(poem)
```

## Common Errors

### Unterminated string

```jitzu
let msg = "hello
// Error: String terminated abnormally

// Fix: close the string on the same line
let msg = "hello"
```

### Invalid escape sequence

```jitzu
let ch = '\\x'
// Error: Invalid escape character sequence

// Valid escapes: \\n, \\t, \\\\, \\", \\'
```

### Invalid interpolation expression

```jitzu
let msg = \`value: {}\`
// Error: Not expecting this in an interpolated string

// Fix: put an expression inside the braces
let x = 42
let msg = \`value: {x}\`
```

Strings are one of Jitzu's most-used types. Next, explore [Vectors](/docs/language/vectors) for working with collections.