Text Blocks – Simplifying Multi-Line Strings in Java

JEP 368 introduces text blocks as a preview feature in Java 14, offering a new way to write multi-line string literals. This feature aims to improve readability and maintainability compared to traditional string concatenation, especially for scenarios involving extensive string content.

Here’s a breakdown of key aspects:

Motivation:

• Concatenating strings for multi-line content can be cumbersome and error-prone, requiring escape sequences and proper indentation.
• JEP 368 addresses this by providing a new syntax for writing multi-line strings with minimal escaping and automatic indentation preservation.

Syntax:

• Text blocks are enclosed by triple double quotes (“`).
• Whitespace and indentation within the opening and closing delimiters are preserved as part of the string content.
• No escape sequences are needed for newlines or other special characters within the block, except for double quotes (“”), which require escaping with a backslash (“).

String oldString = "This is a string\n" +
                "written with concatenation\n" +
                "and requires escaping newlines \\n.";

String textBlock = """
This is a string
written with a text block
and preserves indentation and newlines.
No need to escape "quotes".
""";

System.out.println(oldString);
System.out.println(textBlock);

Output : This is a string written with concatenation and requires escaping newlines \n. This is a string written with a text block and preserves indentation and newlines. No need to escape “quotes”.