title: Multiline statements in Python
body: <p>Previously, I thought I'd heard that using a backslash at the end of a line of Python code to continue on the next line was preferably avoided. What I remember being told was that enclosing things in parentheses was preferred.</p>
  
  <p>I think I ran into at least one exception as pointed out to me in <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/questions/37619235/where-is-my-syntax-error">Where is my syntax error?</a> , where the following is not a legitimate way of handling multiline statements:</p>
  
  <pre><code>(a =
    b)
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>What are the rules for preferred ways of handling multiline statements in Python?</p>