How can you create a string that spans multiple lines?

Creating a string that spans multiple lines in Python is effectively accomplished by using triple quotes. Triple quotes allow you to enclose strings in either triple single quotes (''') or triple double quotes ("""). This feature provides a simple and readable way to include line breaks directly within the string itself, making it ideal for long strings or docstrings, where maintaining the format is essential.

For instance:

multi_line_string = """This is a string

that spans multiple lines

in Python."""

In the above code, the string retains its formatting with line breaks and spaces as written, demonstrating how triple quotes can accurately represent multi-line text. This capability is particularly useful in situations where the actual content of the string is multiline by nature.

The other options do not create strings that span multiple lines in the same way. Using a backslash at the end of each line is a workaround to indicate that a line continues, but it complicates the readability of the string. The newline character does insert line breaks within a string but requires explicit inclusion for each break, making it less convenient for longer, multi-line strings. Lastly, the assertion that strings cannot span multiple lines is simply incorrect, as Python provides effective means to accomplish this.