j21-textblock-syntax - Blog of Vincent VAUBAN

🎓 Java Text Blocks Syntax
With a Touch of French Literature

Java introduced text blocks to make it easier to write multi-line strings without having to concatenate lines or escape special characters like quotes and newlines.
🧱 Syntax of a Text Block
A text block starts with three double-quote characters (""") followed by a line terminator. That means you cannot begin writing content on the same line as the opening triple quotes.

// ❌ ERROR — single-line text block not allowed String quote = """Victor Hugo"""; // ❌ ERROR — line not terminated properly String colors = """bleu blanc rouge """;

✅ But this is perfectly valid:

String colors = """ bleu blanc rouge """;

This is equivalent to:

String colors = "bleu\n" + "blanc\n" + "rouge\n";

📚 Quoting French Authors with Text Blocks
Let's now look at some classic French quotes using text blocks.

String hugo = """ "La liberté commence où l’ignorance finit." — Victor Hugo """;

Compared to the traditional way:

String hugo = "\"La liberté commence où l’ignorance finit.\"\n" + "— Victor Hugo\n";

Notice how cleaner and more readable the text block version is—no need to escape quotes or manually add newline characters.
💡 Code Example Inside a Text Block
Text blocks are also great for embedding code:

String code = """ System.out.println("On ne voit bien qu’avec le cœur."); // — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry """;

Which would traditionally be written as:

String code = "System.out.println(\"On ne voit bien qu’avec le cœur.\");\n" + "// — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry\n";

✨ Summary
Text blocks simplify writing multi-line strings, whether you're listing values or quoting literary giants. Just remember:
🟣 Start with """ followed by a newline.
🟣 Indentation is preserved but can be trimmed automatically.
🟣 Quotes inside don’t need to be escaped.

🎓 Java Text Blocks Syntax

Java introduced text blocks to make it easier to write multi-line strings without having to concatenate lines or escape special characters like quotes and newlines.

🧱 Syntax of a Text Block

A text block starts with three double-quote characters (""") followed by a line terminator. That means you cannot begin writing content on the same line as the opening triple quotes.

✅ But this is perfectly valid:

This is equivalent to:

📚 Quoting French Authors with Text Blocks

Let's now look at some classic French quotes using text blocks.

Compared to the traditional way:

Notice how cleaner and more readable the text block version is—no need to escape quotes or manually add newline characters.

💡 Code Example Inside a Text Block

Text blocks are also great for embedding code:

Which would traditionally be written as:

✨ Summary

Text blocks simplify writing multi-line strings, whether you're listing values or quoting literary giants. Just remember:

🟣 Start with """ followed by a newline.

🟣 Indentation is preserved but can be trimmed automatically.

🟣 Quotes inside don’t need to be escaped.