Avoid line continuation escapes in text blocks with mixed newline content by Jenson3210 · Pull Request #975 · openrewrite/rewrite-migrate-java

Jenson3210 · 2026-01-27T11:36:41Z

Summary

When UseTextBlocks converts a string concatenation that mixes newline-terminated strings with non-newline strings, it no longer inserts \ line continuations for the non-newline joins
Instead, those parts are placed on the same text block line
Line continuations are still used when the entire content has no newlines, where they provide useful visual structure

Problem

When converting SQL query string concatenations to text blocks, the recipe inserts \ (line continuation) escapes between adjacent strings that aren't separated by \n. In a mixed concatenation like:

String query = "select count(1)\n" +
               "from my_table\n" +
               "where a.id = b.id\n" +
               "and a.stat_cd = 'ACTV'" +
               " and a.del_fl = 'N'" +
               " and a.rgn = :region";

The recipe would produce unexpected \ characters:

String query = """
               ...
               and a.stat_cd = 'ACTV'\
                and a.del_fl = 'N'\
                and a.rgn = :region""";

While semantically correct, the \ line continuation is unfamiliar to many developers and perceived as a bug.

Solution

Added a contentHasNewlines guard to the passPhrase insertion logic. When the concatenated content already contains interior newlines (mixed case), non-newline-joined strings are simply concatenated on the same text block line instead of being split with \ continuations:

String query = """
               ...
               and a.stat_cd = 'ACTV' and a.del_fl = 'N' and a.rgn = :region""";

Test plan

Existing tests pass (all 27 UseTextBlocksTest cases)
New tests: noLineContinuationWhenContentHasNewlines — trailing non-newline strings
New tests: noLineContinuationInMixedConcatenation — end-of-query non-newline strings
New tests: noLineContinuationInMiddleOfMixedConcatenation — mid-query non-newline join
Fixes moderneinc/customer-requests#1763

Jenson3210 · 2026-01-27T11:42:05Z

Note for reviewers: This seems to be bit opinionated issue raised.

While semantically correct, the \ line continuation is unfamiliar to many developers and perceived as a bug.
Do we really want to concatenate all to single line when they had it on different lines earlier? Or do we want to keep the \ in there?

The \s escape for trailing whitespace preservation is correct behavior — without it, Java text blocks would strip trailing spaces, changing the string's value. This is not a bug.

src/test/java/org/openrewrite/java/migrate/lang/UseTextBlocksTest.java

src/main/java/org/openrewrite/java/migrate/lang/UseTextBlocks.java

Add a new recipe option `avoidLineContinuations` (default: false) that, when enabled, avoids using `\` line continuation escapes in text blocks where the content contains newlines. Non-newline-joined strings are placed on the same text block line instead. Previously with the option enabled, "foo\n" + "bar" + " baz" produces: foo bar baz Without the option (default), the existing behavior is preserved: foo bar\ baz Fixes moderneinc/customer-requests#1763

…26.0 to 3.27.0 [skip ci] Bumps [org.openrewrite.recipe:rewrite-migrate-java](https://github.com/openrewrite/rewrite-migrate-java) from 3.26.0 to 3.27.0. Release notes *Sourced from [org.openrewrite.recipe:rewrite-migrate-java's releases](https://github.com/openrewrite/rewrite-migrate-java/releases).* > 3.27.0 > ------ > > What's Changed > -------------- > > * Add jakarta.annotation-api dependency when using javax.annotation by [`@jkschneider`](https://github.com/jkschneider) in [openrewrite/rewrite-migrate-java#972](https://redirect.github.com/openrewrite/rewrite-migrate-java/pull/972) > * Add com.sun.istack.NotNull migration to Jakarta validation by [`@jkschneider`](https://github.com/jkschneider) in [openrewrite/rewrite-migrate-java#973](https://redirect.github.com/openrewrite/rewrite-migrate-java/pull/973) > * Add UseListOf and UseSetOf recipes by [`@jkschneider`](https://github.com/jkschneider) in [openrewrite/rewrite-migrate-java#974](https://redirect.github.com/openrewrite/rewrite-migrate-java/pull/974) > * Lombok Annotation Processor Configuration by [`@MBoegers`](https://github.com/MBoegers) in [openrewrite/rewrite-migrate-java#977](https://redirect.github.com/openrewrite/rewrite-migrate-java/pull/977) > * Migrate GraalVM resource-config.json from regex to glob patterns by [`@MBoegers`](https://github.com/MBoegers) in [openrewrite/rewrite-migrate-java#976](https://redirect.github.com/openrewrite/rewrite-migrate-java/pull/976) > * Followup after the formatting merge by [`@Jenson3210`](https://github.com/Jenson3210) in [openrewrite/rewrite-migrate-java#978](https://redirect.github.com/openrewrite/rewrite-migrate-java/pull/978) > * Avoid line continuation escapes in text blocks with mixed newline content by [`@Jenson3210`](https://github.com/Jenson3210) in [openrewrite/rewrite-migrate-java#975](https://redirect.github.com/openrewrite/rewrite-migrate-java/pull/975) > * Change Docker image version in Java upgrades by [`@timtebeek`](https://github.com/timtebeek) in [openrewrite/rewrite-migrate-java#980](https://redirect.github.com/openrewrite/rewrite-migrate-java/pull/980) > > **Full Changelog**: <openrewrite/rewrite-migrate-java@v3.26.0...v3.27.0> Commits * [`04592ca`](openrewrite/rewrite-migrate-java@04592ca) Expect continuation indent in text blocks * [`f42714b`](openrewrite/rewrite-migrate-java@f42714b) Delete files * [`9499e38`](openrewrite/rewrite-migrate-java@9499e38) [Auto] SDKMAN! Java candidates as of 2026-02-09T1052 * [`ca26543`](openrewrite/rewrite-migrate-java@ca26543) Change Docker image version in Java upgrades ([#980](https://redirect.github.com/openrewrite/rewrite-migrate-java/issues/980)) * [`6e525a1`](openrewrite/rewrite-migrate-java@6e525a1) Make declarative recipes singletons * [`dc6029d`](openrewrite/rewrite-migrate-java@dc6029d) [Auto] SDKMAN! Java candidates as of 2026-02-02T1038 * [`e13f6e8`](openrewrite/rewrite-migrate-java@e13f6e8) Update documentation examples * [`653dd7c`](openrewrite/rewrite-migrate-java@653dd7c) Add avoidLineContinuations option to UseTextBlocks ([#975](https://redirect.github.com/openrewrite/rewrite-migrate-java/issues/975)) * [`c6b1bcf`](openrewrite/rewrite-migrate-java@c6b1bcf) Followup after the formatting merge ([#978](https://redirect.github.com/openrewrite/rewrite-migrate-java/issues/978)) * [`4f3aaa0`](openrewrite/rewrite-migrate-java@4f3aaa0) Migrate GraalVM resource-config.json from regex to glob patterns ([#976](https://redirect.github.com/openrewrite/rewrite-migrate-java/issues/976)) * Additional commits viewable in [compare view](openrewrite/rewrite-migrate-java@v3.26.0...v3.27.0) [![Dependabot compatibility score](https://dependabot-badges.githubapp.com/badges/compatibility\_score?dependency-name=org.openrewrite.recipe:rewrite-migrate-java&package-manager=maven&previous-version=3.26.0&new-version=3.27.0)](https://docs.github.com/en/github/managing-security-vulnerabilities/about-dependabot-security-updates#about-compatibility-scores) Dependabot will resolve any conflicts with this PR as long as you don't alter it yourself. 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moderne-meeseeks bot added this to OpenRewrite Jan 27, 2026

moderne-meeseeks bot assigned Jenson3210 Jan 27, 2026

github-project-automation bot moved this to In Progress in OpenRewrite Jan 27, 2026

Jenson3210 requested a review from Laurens-W January 27, 2026 11:39

Jenson3210 requested a review from timtebeek January 27, 2026 11:42

Laurens-W approved these changes Jan 27, 2026

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timtebeek reviewed Jan 27, 2026

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src/test/java/org/openrewrite/java/migrate/lang/UseTextBlocksTest.java Show resolved Hide resolved

Jenson3210 force-pushed the Jenson3210/fix-textblock-line-continuation branch from f6b92f7 to 4ead755 Compare January 27, 2026 15:14

timtebeek reviewed Jan 28, 2026

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src/main/java/org/openrewrite/java/migrate/lang/UseTextBlocks.java Show resolved Hide resolved

Jenson3210 force-pushed the Jenson3210/fix-textblock-line-continuation branch from 67e90f4 to 2fd94c6 Compare January 29, 2026 09:34

timtebeek merged commit 653dd7c into main Jan 29, 2026
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timtebeek deleted the Jenson3210/fix-textblock-line-continuation branch January 29, 2026 12:19

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Avoid line continuation escapes in text blocks with mixed newline content#975

Avoid line continuation escapes in text blocks with mixed newline content#975
timtebeek merged 1 commit intomainfrom
Jenson3210/fix-textblock-line-continuation

Jenson3210 commented Jan 27, 2026 •

edited by moderne-meeseeks bot

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Jenson3210 commented Jan 27, 2026 •

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