> 
> **Possible Duplicate:**  
> 
> [Passing meta-characters to Python as arguments from command line](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/5753332/passing-meta-characters-to-python-as-arguments-from-command-line) 
> 
> 
> 

I want to pass a parameter from the command line to a python script to specify what my input file is delimited with. (e.g. `","` or `"\t"`). For flexibility's sake, I'd like to specify it directly on the command line, not code in options for this parameter into the script.

e.g. 

```
pythonscript.py --in_delimiter "\t" --in_file input.txt

```

I seem to be having problems with the backslash being interpreted before python receives it. I tried to escape this by adding extra backslashes but couldn't get it to work.

**My Question:** Is it possible to pass something like "\t" from the command line or do I have to use codes which I interpret inside the script (e.g. `c = ","` or `t= "\t"`, etc).

Thanks for your help.