Why does this javascript variable produce a syntax error?

Question

I have a simple javascript variable, filled with a string. Within the string, there are more than 400 double quotes, so to make it valid (or at least, what I thought would be valid), I've encased it in single quotes. However, this still seems to return a syntax error, both in my Dreamweaver code console, and using JSLint on my JSFiddle.

Could anyone explain why this produced a syntax error?

Link to JSFiddle

var options = '<option value="0">Select country</option>
<option value="AF">Afghanistan</option>
<option value="AL">Albania</option>
<option value="DZ">Algeria</option>
<option value="AS">American Samoa</option>
<option value="AD">Andorra</option>
<option value="AG">Angola</option>
<option value="AI">Anguilla</option>
<option value="AG">Antigua &amp; Barbuda</option>
<option value="AR">Argentina</option>
<option value="AA">Armenia</option>
<option value="AW">Aruba</option>
<option value="AU">Australia</option>
<option value="AT">Austria</option>
<option value="AZ">Azerbaijan</option>
<option value="BS">Bahamas</option>
<option value="BH">Bahrain</option>
<option value="BD">Bangladesh</option>
<option value="BB">Barbados</option>
<option value="BY">Belarus</option>
<option value="BE">Belgium</option>
<option value="BZ">Belize</option>
<option value="BJ">Benin</option>
<option value="BM">Bermuda</option>
<option value="BT">Bhutan</option>
<option value="BO">Bolivia</option>
<option value="BL">Bonaire</option>
<option value="BA">Bosnia &amp; Herzegovina</option>
<option value="BW">Botswana</option>
<option value="BR">Brazil</option>
<option value="BC">British Indian Ocean Ter</option>
<option value="BN">Brunei</option>
<option value="BG">Bulgaria</option>
<option value="BF">Burkina Faso</option>
<option value="BI">Burundi</option>
<option value="KH">Cambodia</option>
<option value="CM">Cameroon</option>
<option value="CA">Canada</option>
<option value="IC">Canary Islands</option>
<option value="CV">Cape Verde</option>
<option value="KY">Cayman Islands</option>
<option value="CF">Central African Republic</option>
<option value="TD">Chad</option>
<option value="CD">Channel Islands</option>
<option value="CL">Chile</option>
<option value="CN">China</option>
<option value="CI">Christmas Island</option>
<option value="CS">Cocos Island</option>
<option value="CO">Colombia</option>
<option value="CC">Comoros</option>
<option value="CG">Congo</option>
<option value="CK">Cook Islands</option>
<option value="CR">Costa Rica</option>
<option value="CT">Cote DIvoire</option>
<option value="HR">Croatia</option>
<option value="CU">Cuba</option>
<option value="CB">Curacao</option>
<option value="CY">Cyprus</option>
<option value="CZ">Czech Republic</option>
<option value="DK">Denmark</option>
<option value="DJ">Djibouti</option>
<option value="DM">Dominica</option>
<option value="DO">Dominican Republic</option>
<option value="TM">East Timor</option>
<option value="EC">Ecuador</option>
<option value="EG">Egypt</option>
<option value="SV">El Salvador</option>
<option value="GQ">Equatorial Guinea</option>
<option value="ER">Eritrea</option>
<option value="EE">Estonia</option>
<option value="ET">Ethiopia</option>
<option value="FA">Falkland Islands</option>
<option value="FO">Faroe Islands</option>
<option value="FJ">Fiji</option>
<option value="FI">Finland</option>
<option value="FR">France</option>
<option value="GF">French Guiana</option>
<option value="PF">French Polynesia</option>
<option value="FS">French Southern Ter</option>
<option value="GA">Gabon</option>
<option value="GM">Gambia</option>
<option value="GE">Georgia</option>
<option value="DE">Germany</option>
<option value="GH">Ghana</option>
<option value="GI">Gibraltar</option>
<option value="GB">Great Britain</option>
<option value="GR">Greece</option>
<option value="GL">Greenland</option>
<option value="GD">Grenada</option>
<option value="GP">Guadeloupe</option>
<option value="GU">Guam</option>
<option value="GT">Guatemala</option>
<option value="GN">Guinea</option>
<option value="GY">Guyana</option>
<option value="HT">Haiti</option>
<option value="HW">Hawaii</option>
<option value="HN">Honduras</option>
<option value="HK">Hong Kong</option>
<option value="HU">Hungary</option>
<option value="IS">Iceland</option>
<option value="IN">India</option>
<option value="ID">Indonesia</option>
<option value="IA">Iran</option>
<option value="IQ">Iraq</option>
<option value="IR">Ireland</option>
<option value="IM">Isle of Man</option>
<option value="IL">Israel</option>
<option value="IT">Italy</option>
<option value="JM">Jamaica</option>
<option value="JP">Japan</option>
<option value="JO">Jordan</option>
<option value="KZ">Kazakhstan</option>
<option value="KE">Kenya</option>
<option value="KI">Kiribati</option>
<option value="NK">Korea North</option>
<option value="KS">Korea South</option>
<option value="KW">Kuwait</option>
<option value="KG">Kyrgyzstan</option>
<option value="LA">Laos</option>
<option value="LV">Latvia</option>
<option value="LB">Lebanon</option>
<option value="LS">Lesotho</option>
<option value="LR">Liberia</option>
<option value="LY">Libya</option>
<option value="LI">Liechtenstein</option>
<option value="LT">Lithuania</option>
<option value="LU">Luxembourg</option>
<option value="MO">Macau</option>
<option value="MK">Macedonia</option>
<option value="MG">Madagascar</option>
<option value="MY">Malaysia</option>
<option value="MW">Malawi</option>
<option value="MV">Maldives</option>
<option value="ML">Mali</option>
<option value="MT">Malta</option>
<option value="MH">Marshall Islands</option>
<option value="MQ">Martinique</option>
<option value="MR">Mauritania</option>
<option value="MU">Mauritius</option>
<option value="ME">Mayotte</option>
<option value="MX">Mexico</option>
<option value="MI">Midway Islands</option>
<option value="MD">Moldova</option>
<option value="MC">Monaco</option>
<option value="MN">Mongolia</option>
<option value="MS">Montserrat</option>
<option value="MA">Morocco</option>
<option value="MZ">Mozambique</option>
<option value="MM">Myanmar</option>
<option value="NA">Nambia</option>
<option value="NU">Nauru</option>
<option value="NP">Nepal</option>
<option value="AN">Netherland Antilles</option>
<option value="NL">Netherlands (Holland, Europe)</option>
<option value="NV">Nevis</option>
<option value="NC">New Caledonia</option>
<option value="NZ">New Zealand</option>
<option value="NI">Nicaragua</option>
<option value="NE">Niger</option>
<option value="NG">Nigeria</option>
<option value="NW">Niue</option>
<option value="NF">Norfolk Island</option>
<option value="NO">Norway</option>
<option value="OM">Oman</option>
<option value="PK">Pakistan</option>
<option value="PW">Palau Island</option>
<option value="PS">Palestine</option>
<option value="PA">Panama</option>
<option value="PG">Papua New Guinea</option>
<option value="PY">Paraguay</option>
<option value="PE">Peru</option>
<option value="PH">Philippines</option>
<option value="PO">Pitcairn Island</option>
<option value="PL">Poland</option>
<option value="PT">Portugal</option>
<option value="PR">Puerto Rico</option>
<option value="QA">Qatar</option>
<option value="ME">Republic of Montenegro</option>
<option value="RS">Republic of Serbia</option>
<option value="RE">Reunion</option>
<option value="RO">Romania</option>
<option value="RU">Russia</option>
<option value="RW">Rwanda</option>
<option value="NT">St Barthelemy</option>
<option value="EU">St Eustatius</option>
<option value="HE">St Helena</option>
<option value="KN">St Kitts-Nevis</option>
<option value="LC">St Lucia</option>
<option value="MB">St Maarten</option>
<option value="PM">St Pierre &amp; Miquelon</option>
<option value="VC">St Vincent &amp; Grenadines</option>
<option value="SP">Saipan</option>
<option value="SO">Samoa</option>
<option value="AS">Samoa American</option>
<option value="SM">San Marino</option>
<option value="ST">Sao Tome &amp; Principe</option>
<option value="SA">Saudi Arabia</option>
<option value="SN">Senegal</option>
<option value="SC">Seychelles</option>
<option value="SL">Sierra Leone</option>
<option value="SG">Singapore</option>
<option value="SK">Slovakia</option>
<option value="SI">Slovenia</option>
<option value="SB">Solomon Islands</option>
<option value="OI">Somalia</option>
<option value="ZA">South Africa</option>
<option value="ES">Spain</option>
<option value="LK">Sri Lanka</option>
<option value="SD">Sudan</option>
<option value="SR">Suriname</option>
<option value="SZ">Swaziland</option>
<option value="SE">Sweden</option>
<option value="CH">Switzerland</option>
<option value="SY">Syria</option>
<option value="TA">Tahiti</option>
<option value="TW">Taiwan</option>
<option value="TJ">Tajikistan</option>
<option value="TZ">Tanzania</option>
<option value="TH">Thailand</option>
<option value="TG">Togo</option>
<option value="TK">Tokelau</option>
<option value="TO">Tonga</option>
<option value="TT">Trinidad &amp; Tobago</option>
<option value="TN">Tunisia</option>
<option value="TR">Turkey</option>
<option value="TU">Turkmenistan</option>
<option value="TC">Turks &amp; Caicos Is</option>
<option value="TV">Tuvalu</option>
<option value="UG">Uganda</option>
<option value="UA">Ukraine</option>
<option value="AE">United Arab Emirates</option>
<option value="GB">United Kingdom</option>
<option value="US">United States of America</option>
<option value="UY">Uruguay</option>
<option value="UZ">Uzbekistan</option>
<option value="VU">Vanuatu</option>
<option value="VS">Vatican City State</option>
<option value="VE">Venezuela</option>
<option value="VN">Vietnam</option>
<option value="VB">Virgin Islands (Brit)</option>
<option value="VA">Virgin Islands (USA)</option>
<option value="WK">Wake Island</option>
<option value="WF">Wallis &amp; Futana Is</option>
<option value="YE">Yemen</option>
<option value="ZR">Zaire</option>
<option value="ZM">Zambia</option>
<option value="ZW">Zimbabwe</option>';

Quentin · Accepted Answer · 2011-10-15 17:14:56Z

5

It contains unescaped linebreaks.

Either:

Put everything on one line
Replace the literal line breaks with \n
Prefix each line break with \

answered Oct 15, 2011 at 17:14

Quentin

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1 Comment

Avicinnian Over a year ago

Thanks for the most thorough answer. I wasn't aware of this requisite in Javascript, I'll accept when the timer drops.

genesis · Accepted Answer · 2011-10-15 17:23:03Z

4

You can't use multi-line string constants, that's why

You can workaround it by wrapping end lines with '+

var options = '<option value="0">Select country</option>'+
'<option value="AF">Afghanistan</option>'+
'<option value="AL">Albania</option>'+
'<option value="DZ">Algeria</option>'+
'<option value="AS">American Samoa</option>'; //more and more

http://jsfiddle.net/cqpka/5/

edited Oct 15, 2011 at 17:23

answered Oct 15, 2011 at 17:14

genesis

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3 Comments

Pointy Over a year ago

You can have multi-line variable definitions, but you cannot have multi-line string constants.

genesis Over a year ago

@Pointy: I wasn't able to find the correct phrase for that. Thanks

Quentin Over a year ago

Eurm… <option value="0">Select country</option>NaNNaNNaNNaN. You probably want to avoid converting all the strings to Numbers. Isn't string concatenation more expensive then just putting things on one line though?

Joe · Accepted Answer · 2011-10-15 17:15:39Z

2

You need the \ to do multiple line strings in JavaScript.

var a = "test \
end"

answered Oct 15, 2011 at 17:15

Joe

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Comments

zellio · Accepted Answer · 2011-10-15 17:15:44Z

2

Your problem is you cannot have newlines like that in your strings

var str = "hello
           world";

Is not valid JS

var str = "Hello\nWorld";

Is

answered Oct 15, 2011 at 17:15

zellio

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Comments

Romulo Tavares · Accepted Answer · 2011-12-15 13:42:21Z

0

In javascript it is necessary that a multiline string has a "\" at the end of each line indicates the continuation of the string, but in your case is best option to put an element of each array and at the end make a join().

Example:

var optionsArray = [
    '<option value="0">Select country</option>',
    '<option value="AF">Afghanistan</option>',
    '<option value="AL">Albania</option>' ];

var optionsString = optionsArray.join('\n');

edited Dec 15, 2011 at 13:42

user447356

answered Oct 15, 2011 at 17:34

Romulo Tavares

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