Java Text Blocks

Multi-line string literals with improved readability (Java 15+)

java (15+) 2025-11-03 text-blocks strings multiline java15

Description

Text blocks are multi-line string literals that make it easier to work with strings that span multiple lines. They were introduced as a preview feature in Java 13 and became standard in Java 15.

Key Features

  • Multi-line strings: Write strings across multiple lines naturally
  • Automatic formatting: Preserves indentation and whitespace
  • Escape sequences: Support for escape sequences
  • Interpolation: Can use expressions (future feature)

Syntax

  • Start with """ (three double quotes)
  • Content on the next line
  • End with """
  • Indentation is relative to the closing delimiter

Use Cases

  • SQL queries
  • JSON/XML strings
  • HTML templates
  • Multi-line messages
  • Code generation
  • Configuration strings

Code

RAW 
public class TextBlockUtils {        // Basic text block    public static String getMultiLineText() {        return """            This is a            multi-line            text block            """;    }        // SQL query as text block    public static String getSelectQuery() {        return """            SELECT id, name, email            FROM users            WHERE status = 'ACTIVE'            ORDER BY name            """;    }        // JSON as text block    public static String getJsonExample() {        return """            {                "name": "John Doe",                "age": 30,                "city": "New York"            }            """;    }        // HTML template as text block    public static String getHtmlTemplate(String title, String content) {        return """            <html>                <head>                    <title>%s</title>                </head>                <body>                    <h1>%s</h1>                    <p>%s</p>                </body>            </html>            """.formatted(title, title, content);    }        // Text block with escape sequences    public static String getTextWithEscapes() {        return """            Line 1            Line 2 with "quotes"            Line 3 with \n newline            """;    }        // Text block preserving formatting    public static String getFormattedCode() {        return """            public class Example {                public static void main(String[] args) {                    System.out.println("Hello");                }            }            """;    }}
RAW 
// Basic text blockString text = """    This is a    multi-line    string    """;// SQL queryString query = """    SELECT u.id, u.name, u.email    FROM users u    WHERE u.status = 'ACTIVE'        AND u.created_at > '2024-01-01'    ORDER BY u.name    """;// JSON stringString json = """    {        "name": "Alice",        "age": 25,        "hobbies": ["reading", "coding"]    }    """;// HTML templateString html = """    <div class="container">        <h1>Welcome</h1>        <p>This is a paragraph</p>    </div>    """;// XMLString xml = """    <person>        <name>John</name>        <age>30</age>    </person>    """;// Using with String methodsString formatted = """    Hello %s,    Welcome to %s!    """.formatted("Alice", "Java");// Text block with escape sequencesString withEscapes = """    Normal text    Text with \"quotes\"    Text with \\backslash    """;// Code templateString codeTemplate = """    public class %s {        private String %s;                public %s(String %s) {            this.%s = %s;        }    }    """.formatted("Person", "name", "Person", "name", "name", "name");// Multi-line messageString message = """    Error occurred:    - File not found    - Permission denied    Please check the file path.    """;

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