We can write multiple-line statements because MySQL determines the end of a statement by looking for the termination semicolon, not by looking for the end of the input line.
Example
mysql> Select * -> from -> stock_item; +------------+-------+----------+ | item_name | Value | Quantity | +------------+-------+----------+ | Calculator | 15 | 89 | | Notebooks | 63 | 40 | | Pencil | 15 | 40 | | Pens | 65 | 32 | | Shirts | 13 | 29 | | Shoes | 15 | 29 | | Trousers | 15 | 29 | +------------+-------+----------+ 7 rows in set (0.00 sec)
In the example above, we write a single query into multiple lines and MySQL returns the output only after getting the termination semicolon. In this way we can also say that MySQL can recognize liberated-format input, it gathers the input lines but does not accomplish them until it notices the termination semicolon.