feat: add triple-quoted multiline string literals (issue 12)

Support """...""" syntax for multiline strings with:
- Automatic indent stripping (based on minimum indentation)
- Leading newline after opening """ is skipped
- Trailing whitespace-only line before closing """ is stripped
- String interpolation ({expr}) support
- All escape sequences supported
- Formatter outputs multiline strings for strings containing newlines

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

src/formatter.rs

@@ -733,7 +733,30 @@ impl Formatter {
         match &lit.kind {
             LiteralKind::Int(n) => n.to_string(),
             LiteralKind::Float(f) => format!("{}", f),
-            LiteralKind::String(s) => format!("\"{}\"", s.replace('\\', "\\\\").replace('"', "\\\"").replace('{', "\\{").replace('}', "\\}")),
+            LiteralKind::String(s) => {
+                if s.contains('\n') {
+                    // Use triple-quoted multiline string
+                    let tab = " ".repeat(self.config.indent_size);
+                    let base_indent = tab.repeat(self.indent_level);
+                    let content_indent = tab.repeat(self.indent_level + 1);
+                    let lines: Vec<&str> = s.split('\n').collect();
+                    let mut result = String::from("\"\"\"\n");
+                    for line in &lines {
+                        if line.is_empty() {
+                            result.push('\n');
+                        } else {
+                            result.push_str(&content_indent);
+                            result.push_str(&line.replace('{', "\\{").replace('}', "\\}"));
+                            result.push('\n');
+                        }
+                    }
+                    result.push_str(&base_indent);
+                    result.push_str("\"\"\"");
+                    result
+                } else {
+                    format!("\"{}\"", s.replace('\\', "\\\\").replace('"', "\\\"").replace('{', "\\{").replace('}', "\\}"))
+                }
+            },
             LiteralKind::Char(c) => format!("'{}'", c),
             LiteralKind::Bool(b) => b.to_string(),
             LiteralKind::Unit => "()".to_string(),

src/lexer.rs

@@ -411,7 +411,26 @@ impl<'a> Lexer<'a> {
             }
 
             // String literals
-            '"' => self.scan_string(start)?,
+            '"' => {
+                // Check for triple-quote multiline string """
+                if self.peek() == Some('"') {
+                    // Clone to peek at the second char
+                    let mut lookahead = self.chars.clone();
+                    lookahead.next(); // consume first peeked "
+                    if lookahead.peek() == Some(&'"') {
+                        // It's a triple-quote: consume both remaining quotes
+                        self.advance(); // second "
+                        self.advance(); // third "
+                        self.scan_multiline_string(start)?
+                    } else {
+                        // It's an empty string ""
+                        self.advance(); // consume closing "
+                        TokenKind::String(String::new())
+                    }
+                } else {
+                    self.scan_string(start)?
+                }
+            }
 
             // Char literals
             '\'' => self.scan_char(start)?,
@@ -669,6 +688,211 @@ impl<'a> Lexer<'a> {
         Ok(TokenKind::InterpolatedString(parts))
     }
 
+    fn scan_multiline_string(&mut self, _start: usize) -> Result<TokenKind, LexError> {
+        let mut parts: Vec<StringPart> = Vec::new();
+        let mut current_literal = String::new();
+
+        // Skip the first newline after opening """ if present
+        if self.peek() == Some('\n') {
+            self.advance();
+        } else if self.peek() == Some('\r') {
+            self.advance();
+            if self.peek() == Some('\n') {
+                self.advance();
+            }
+        }
+
+        loop {
+            match self.advance() {
+                Some('"') => {
+                    // Check for closing """
+                    if self.peek() == Some('"') {
+                        let mut lookahead = self.chars.clone();
+                        lookahead.next(); // consume first peeked "
+                        if lookahead.peek() == Some(&'"') {
+                            // Closing """ found
+                            self.advance(); // second "
+                            self.advance(); // third "
+                            break;
+                        }
+                    }
+                    // Not closing triple-quote, just a regular " in the string
+                    current_literal.push('"');
+                }
+                Some('\\') => {
+                    // Handle escape sequences (same as regular strings)
+                    match self.peek() {
+                        Some('{') => {
+                            self.advance();
+                            current_literal.push('{');
+                        }
+                        Some('}') => {
+                            self.advance();
+                            current_literal.push('}');
+                        }
+                        _ => {
+                            let escape_start = self.pos;
+                            let escaped = match self.advance() {
+                                Some('n') => '\n',
+                                Some('r') => '\r',
+                                Some('t') => '\t',
+                                Some('\\') => '\\',
+                                Some('"') => '"',
+                                Some('0') => '\0',
+                                Some('\'') => '\'',
+                                Some(c) => {
+                                    return Err(LexError {
+                                        message: format!("Invalid escape sequence: \\{}", c),
+                                        span: Span::new(escape_start - 1, self.pos),
+                                    });
+                                }
+                                None => {
+                                    return Err(LexError {
+                                        message: "Unterminated multiline string".into(),
+                                        span: Span::new(_start, self.pos),
+                                    });
+                                }
+                            };
+                            current_literal.push(escaped);
+                        }
+                    }
+                }
+                Some('{') => {
+                    // Interpolation (same as regular strings)
+                    if !current_literal.is_empty() {
+                        parts.push(StringPart::Literal(std::mem::take(&mut current_literal)));
+                    }
+
+                    let mut expr_text = String::new();
+                    let mut brace_depth = 1;
+
+                    loop {
+                        match self.advance() {
+                            Some('{') => {
+                                brace_depth += 1;
+                                expr_text.push('{');
+                            }
+                            Some('}') => {
+                                brace_depth -= 1;
+                                if brace_depth == 0 {
+                                    break;
+                                }
+                                expr_text.push('}');
+                            }
+                            Some(c) => expr_text.push(c),
+                            None => {
+                                return Err(LexError {
+                                    message: "Unterminated interpolation in multiline string"
+                                        .into(),
+                                    span: Span::new(_start, self.pos),
+                                });
+                            }
+                        }
+                    }
+
+                    parts.push(StringPart::Expr(expr_text));
+                }
+                Some(c) => current_literal.push(c),
+                None => {
+                    return Err(LexError {
+                        message: "Unterminated multiline string".into(),
+                        span: Span::new(_start, self.pos),
+                    });
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        // Strip common leading whitespace from all lines
+        let strip_indent = |s: &str| -> String {
+            if s.is_empty() {
+                return String::new();
+            }
+            let lines: Vec<&str> = s.split('\n').collect();
+            // Find minimum indentation of non-empty lines
+            let min_indent = lines
+                .iter()
+                .filter(|line| !line.trim().is_empty())
+                .map(|line| line.len() - line.trim_start().len())
+                .min()
+                .unwrap_or(0);
+            // Strip that indentation from each line
+            lines
+                .iter()
+                .map(|line| {
+                    if line.len() >= min_indent {
+                        &line[min_indent..]
+                    } else {
+                        line.trim_start()
+                    }
+                })
+                .collect::<Vec<_>>()
+                .join("\n")
+        };
+
+        // Strip trailing whitespace-only line before closing """
+        let trim_trailing = |s: &mut String| {
+            // Remove trailing spaces/tabs (indent before closing """)
+            while s.ends_with(' ') || s.ends_with('\t') {
+                s.pop();
+            }
+            // Remove the trailing newline
+            if s.ends_with('\n') {
+                s.pop();
+                if s.ends_with('\r') {
+                    s.pop();
+                }
+            }
+        };
+
+        if parts.is_empty() {
+            trim_trailing(&mut current_literal);
+            let result = strip_indent(&current_literal);
+            return Ok(TokenKind::String(result));
+        }
+
+        // Add remaining literal
+        if !current_literal.is_empty() {
+            trim_trailing(&mut current_literal);
+            parts.push(StringPart::Literal(current_literal));
+        }
+
+        // For interpolated multiline strings, strip indent from literal parts
+        // First, collect all literal content to find min indent
+        let mut all_text = String::new();
+        for part in &parts {
+            if let StringPart::Literal(lit) = part {
+                all_text.push_str(lit);
+            }
+        }
+        let lines: Vec<&str> = all_text.split('\n').collect();
+        let min_indent = lines
+            .iter()
+            .filter(|line| !line.trim().is_empty())
+            .map(|line| line.len() - line.trim_start().len())
+            .min()
+            .unwrap_or(0);
+
+        if min_indent > 0 {
+            for part in &mut parts {
+                if let StringPart::Literal(lit) = part {
+                    let stripped_lines: Vec<&str> = lit
+                        .split('\n')
+                        .map(|line| {
+                            if line.len() >= min_indent {
+                                &line[min_indent..]
+                            } else {
+                                line.trim_start()
+                            }
+                        })
+                        .collect();
+                    *lit = stripped_lines.join("\n");
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        Ok(TokenKind::InterpolatedString(parts))
+    }
+
     fn scan_char(&mut self, start: usize) -> Result<TokenKind, LexError> {
         let c = match self.advance() {
             Some('\\') => match self.advance() {

src/main.rs

@@ -3925,6 +3925,49 @@ c")"#;
         assert_eq!(eval(source).unwrap(), r#""literal {braces}""#);
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn test_multiline_string() {
+        let source = r#"
+            let s = """
+                hello
+                world
+            """
+            let result = String.length(s)
+        "#;
+        // "hello\nworld" = 11 chars
+        assert_eq!(eval(source).unwrap(), "11");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_multiline_string_with_quotes() {
+        // Quotes are fine in the middle of triple-quoted strings
+        let source = "let s = \"\"\"\n    She said \"hello\" to him.\n\"\"\"";
+        assert_eq!(eval(source).unwrap(), r#""She said "hello" to him.""#);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_multiline_string_interpolation() {
+        let source = r#"
+            let name = "Lux"
+            let s = """
+                Hello, {name}!
+            """
+        "#;
+        assert_eq!(eval(source).unwrap(), r#""Hello, Lux!""#);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_multiline_string_empty() {
+        let source = r#"let s = """""""#;
+        assert_eq!(eval(source).unwrap(), r#""""#);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_multiline_string_inline() {
+        let source = r#"let s = """hello world""""#;
+        assert_eq!(eval(source).unwrap(), r#""hello world""#);
+    }
+
     // Option tests
     #[test]
     fn test_option_constructors() {