C++ statements can be broken into more than a single line. However, you cannot break literal strings such as printf() format string, macros, or literals. When you need a long string, you can use the continuation marker (backslash) before a line break:

   #define  MESSAGE "a very long message that cannot fit into   a single line. It may be broken more than once   like that"  printf ("%10.10ld  	 %10.10ld 	 %s  %f", w, x, y, z );

The preprocessor scans the source file before compilation and concatenates lines that are broken by a continuation marker. Thus, the compiler sees such lines as if they were typed without a break. Note that the line break (a hard return/enter) should appear immediately after the backslash.