Java “constant string too long” compile error. Only happens using Ant, not when using Eclipse

Question

I have a few really long strings in one class for initializing user information. When I compile in Eclipse, I don\'t get any errors or warnings, and the resulting .jar runs

Answer 1

Another trick, if I'm determined to put a long string in the source, is to avoid the compiler detecting it as a constant expression.

String dummyVar = "";
String longString = dummyVar +
    "This string is long\n" + 
    "really long...\n" + 
    "really, really LONG!!!";

This worked for a while, but if you keep going too far the next problem is a stack overflow in the compiler. This describes the same problem and, if you're still determined, how to increase your stack - the problem seems to be the sheer size of the method now. Again this wasn't a problem in Eclipse.