gistfile1.js

// JavaScript's strings aren't multiline by default
var poem = "old pond . . .
a frog leaps in
water’s sound";
// SyntaxError: unterminated string literal

// You can get multiline strings by escaping the newline...
var poem = "old pond . . . \
a frog leaps in \
water’s sound";
// "old pond . . . a frog leaps in water’s sound"

// But you need \n to represent newlines
var poem = "old pond . . . \n\
a frog leaps in \n\
water’s sound";
/* "old pond . . . 
a frog leaps in 
water’s sound" */

// And characters after the slash will break it
var poem = "old pond . . . \n\
a frog leaps in \n\ 
water’s sound";
// SyntaxError: unterminated string literal

// Another way is to use the + concatenation operator, which avoids that problem
// and allows you to align the lines without adding whitespace
var poem = "old pond . . . \n" +
           "a frog leaps in \n" +
           "water’s sound";
/* "old pond . . . 
a frog leaps in 
water’s sound" */