How to split strings over multiple lines in Bash?

Question

How can i split my long string constant over multiple lines?

I realize that you can do this:

echo "continuation \\
lines"
>continuation li         


        

Answer 1

Depending on what sort of risks you will accept and how well you know and trust the data, you can use simplistic variable interpolation.

$: x="
    this
    is
       variably indented
    stuff
   "
$: echo "$x" # preserves the newlines and spacing

    this
    is
       variably indented
    stuff

$: echo $x # no quotes, stacks it "neatly" with minimal spacing
this is variably indented stuff