Multi-line Strings

TON provides powerful multi-line string support with intelligent indentation processing.

Triple-Quoted Strings

Multi-line strings use triple quotes (single or double):

{
    description = """
    This is a multi-line string.
    It can span multiple lines.
    Indentation is intelligently handled.
    """,

    code = '''
    function example() {
        return "Hello World";
    }
    '''
}

Intelligent Indentation

TON automatically processes indentation in multi-line strings:

Content boundaries are determined by triple quotes
Common leading whitespace is identified and removed
Relative indentation is preserved
Empty lines are maintained

Example Processing

// Input
{
    sql = """
        SELECT u.id, u.name
        FROM users u
        WHERE u.active = true
    """
}

// Processed result (common indentation removed)
"SELECT u.id, u.name\nFROM users u\nWHERE u.active = true"

Use Cases

SQL Queries

queries = {
    getUsers = """
    SELECT u.id, u.name, u.email, p.bio
    FROM users u
    LEFT JOIN profiles p ON u.id = p.user_id
    WHERE u.active = true
    ORDER BY u.created_at DESC
    """
}

Code Snippets

examples = {
    javascript = '''
    const greet = (name) => {
        console.log(\Hello, \!\);
    };

    greet("World");
    '''
}

Documentation

api = {
    description = """
    ## User Management API

    This API provides endpoints for:
    - Creating users
    - Updating user profiles
    - Managing permissions

    All endpoints require authentication.
    """
}

Edge Cases

Empty Multi-line Strings

empty = """"""  // Results in empty string

Strings with Special Characters

special = """
No escape sequences needed for:
- Quotes: " and '
- Backslashes: \
- Newlines are literal
"""

Best Practices

Use triple quotes for any text spanning multiple lines
Indent content naturally within your TON structure
Let TON handle the indentation processing automatically
Use single triple quotes for code, double for documentation