ICustomFormatter.Format(String, Object, IFormatProvider) Method

Reference

Definition

Namespace:: System

Assembly:: System.Runtime.dll

Assembly:: mscorlib.dll

Assembly:: netstandard.dll

Important

Some information relates to prerelease product that may be substantially modified before it’s released. Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied, with respect to the information provided here.

Converts the value of a specified object to an equivalent string representation using specified format and culture-specific formatting information.

public:
 System::String ^ Format(System::String ^ format, System::Object ^ arg, IFormatProvider ^ formatProvider);

public string Format (string format, object arg, IFormatProvider formatProvider);

public string Format (string? format, object? arg, IFormatProvider? formatProvider);

abstract member Format : string * obj * IFormatProvider -> string

Public Function Format (format As String, arg As Object, formatProvider As IFormatProvider) As String

Parameters

format: String

A format string containing formatting specifications.

arg: Object

An object to format.

formatProvider: IFormatProvider

An object that supplies format information about the current instance.

Returns

String

The string representation of the value of arg, formatted as specified by format and formatProvider.

Examples

The following example implements ICustomFormatter to allow binary, octal, and hexadecimal formatting of integral values. Its ICustomFormatter.Format implementation determines whether the format parameter is one of the three supported format strings ("B" for binary, "O" for octal, and "H" for hexadecimal) and formats the arg parameter appropriately. Otherwise, if arg is not null, it calls the arg parameter's IFormattable.ToString implementation, if one exists, or its parameterless ToString method, if one does not. If arg is null, the method returns String.Empty.

using System;
using System.Globalization;
using System.Numerics;

public class MyFormatter : IFormatProvider, ICustomFormatter
{
    // IFormatProvider.GetFormat implementation.
    public object GetFormat(Type formatType)
    {
        // Determine whether custom formatting object is requested.
        if (formatType == typeof(ICustomFormatter))
            return this;
        else
            return null;
    }

    // Format number in binary (B), octal (O), or hexadecimal (H).
    public string Format(string format, object arg, IFormatProvider formatProvider)
    {
        // Handle format string.
        int baseNumber;
        // Handle null or empty format string, string with precision specifier.
        string thisFmt = String.Empty;
        // Extract first character of format string (precision specifiers
        // are not supported).
        if (!String.IsNullOrEmpty(format))
            thisFmt = format.Length > 1 ? format.Substring(0, 1) : format;

        // Get a byte array representing the numeric value.
        byte[] bytes;
        if (arg is sbyte)
        {
            string byteString = ((sbyte)arg).ToString("X2");
            bytes = new byte[1] { Byte.Parse(byteString, System.Globalization.NumberStyles.HexNumber) };
        }
        else if (arg is byte)
        {
            bytes = new byte[1] { (byte)arg };
        }
        else if (arg is short)
        {
            bytes = BitConverter.GetBytes((short)arg);
        }
        else if (arg is int)
        {
            bytes = BitConverter.GetBytes((int)arg);
        }
        else if (arg is long)
        {
            bytes = BitConverter.GetBytes((long)arg);
        }
        else if (arg is ushort)
        {
            bytes = BitConverter.GetBytes((ushort)arg);
        }
        else if (arg is uint)
        {
            bytes = BitConverter.GetBytes((uint)arg);
        }
        else if (arg is ulong)
        {
            bytes = BitConverter.GetBytes((ulong)arg);
        }
        else if (arg is BigInteger)
        {
            bytes = ((BigInteger)arg).ToByteArray();
        }
        else
        {
            try
            {
                return HandleOtherFormats(format, arg);
            }
            catch (FormatException e)
            {
                throw new FormatException(String.Format("The format of '{0}' is invalid.", format), e);
            }
        }

        switch (thisFmt.ToUpper())
        {
            // Binary formatting.
            case "B":
                baseNumber = 2;
                break;
            case "O":
                baseNumber = 8;
                break;
            case "H":
                baseNumber = 16;
                break;
            // Handle unsupported format strings.
            default:
                try
                {
                    return HandleOtherFormats(format, arg);
                }
                catch (FormatException e)
                {
                    throw new FormatException(String.Format("The format of '{0}' is invalid.", format), e);
                }
        }

        // Return a formatted string.
        string numericString = String.Empty;
        for (int ctr = bytes.GetUpperBound(0); ctr >= bytes.GetLowerBound(0); ctr--)
        {
            string byteString = Convert.ToString(bytes[ctr], baseNumber);
            if (baseNumber == 2)
                byteString = new String('0', 8 - byteString.Length) + byteString;
            else if (baseNumber == 8)
                byteString = new String('0', 4 - byteString.Length) + byteString;
            // Base is 16.
            else
                byteString = new String('0', 2 - byteString.Length) + byteString;

            numericString += byteString + " ";
        }
        return numericString.Trim();
    }

    private string HandleOtherFormats(string format, object arg)
    {
        if (arg is IFormattable)
            return ((IFormattable)arg).ToString(format, CultureInfo.CurrentCulture);
        else if (arg != null)
            return arg.ToString();
        else
            return String.Empty;
    }
}

open System
open System.Globalization
open System.Numerics

type MyFormatter() =
    interface IFormatProvider with
        // IFormatProvider.GetFormat implementation.
        member this.GetFormat(formatType: Type) =
            // Determine whether custom formatting object is requested.
            if formatType = typeof<ICustomFormatter> then
                this
            else
                null

    interface ICustomFormatter with
        // Format number in binary (B), octal (O), or hexadecimal (H).
        member this.Format(format, arg: obj, formatProvider: IFormatProvider) =
            // Handle null or empty format string, string with precision specifier.
            let thisFmt =
                // Extract first character of format string (precision specifiers
                // are not supported).
                if String.IsNullOrEmpty format |> not then
                    if format.Length > 1 then 
                        format.Substring(0, 1) 
                    else 
                        format
                else
                    String.Empty

            // Get a byte array representing the numeric value.
            let bytes =
                match arg with
                | :? sbyte as arg ->
                    let byteString = arg.ToString "X2"
                    Some [| Byte.Parse(byteString, NumberStyles.HexNumber) |]
                | :? byte as arg ->
                    Some [| arg |]
                | :? int16 as arg ->
                    BitConverter.GetBytes arg
                    |> Some
                | :? int as arg ->
                    BitConverter.GetBytes arg
                    |> Some
                | :? int64 as arg ->
                    BitConverter.GetBytes arg
                    |> Some
                | :? uint16 as arg ->
                    BitConverter.GetBytes arg
                    |> Some
                | :? uint as arg ->
                    BitConverter.GetBytes arg
                    |> Some
                | :? uint64 as arg ->
                    BitConverter.GetBytes arg
                    |> Some
                | :? bigint as arg ->
                    arg.ToByteArray()
                    |> Some
                | _ ->
                    None
            let baseNumber =
                match thisFmt.ToUpper() with
                    // Binary formatting.
                    | "B" -> Some 2
                    | "O" -> Some 8
                    | "H" -> Some 16
                    // Handle unsupported format strings.
                    | _ -> None

            match bytes, baseNumber with
            | Some bytes, Some baseNumber ->
                // Return a formatted string.
                let mutable numericString = String.Empty
                for i = bytes.GetUpperBound 0 to bytes.GetLowerBound 0 do
                    let byteString = Convert.ToString(bytes[i], baseNumber)
                    let byteString =
                        match baseNumber with
                        | 2 ->
                            String('0', 8 - byteString.Length) + byteString
                        | 8 ->
                            String('0', 4 - byteString.Length) + byteString
                        // Base is 16.
                        | _ ->
                            String('0', 2 - byteString.Length) + byteString
                    numericString <- numericString + byteString + " "
                numericString.Trim()
            | _ ->
                try
                    this.HandleOtherFormats(format, arg)
                with :? FormatException as e ->
                    raise (FormatException($"The format of '{format}' is invalid.", e))
                    
    member private this.HandleOtherFormats(format, arg: obj) =
        match arg with
        | :? IFormattable as arg ->
            arg.ToString(format, CultureInfo.CurrentCulture)
        | null ->
            String.Empty
        | _ ->
            string arg

Imports System.Globalization
Imports System.Numerics

Public Class MyFormatter : Implements IFormatProvider, ICustomFormatter
   ' IFormatProvider.GetFormat implementation.
   Public Function GetFormat(formatType As Type) As Object _
                   Implements IFormatProvider.GetFormat
      ' Determine whether custom formatting object is requested.
      If formatType Is GetType(ICustomFormatter) Then
         Return Me
      Else
         Return Nothing
      End If
   End Function   

   ' Format number in binary (B), octal (O), or hexadecimal (H).
   Public Function Format(fmt As String, arg As Object, _
                          formatProvider As IFormatProvider) As String _
                   Implements ICustomFormatter.Format

     ' Handle format string.
      Dim base As Integer
      ' Handle null or empty format string, string with precision specifier.
      Dim thisFmt As String = String.Empty
      ' Extract first character of format string (precision specifiers
      ' are not supported by MyFormatter).
      If Not String.IsNullOrEmpty(fmt) Then
         thisFmt = CStr(IIf(fmt.Length > 1, fmt.Substring(0, 1), fmt))
      End If
         


      ' Get a byte array representing the numeric value.
      Dim bytes() As Byte
      If TypeOf(arg) Is SByte Then
         Dim byteString As String = CType(arg, SByte).ToString("X2")
         bytes = New Byte(0) { Byte.Parse(byteString, System.Globalization.NumberStyles.HexNumber ) }
      ElseIf TypeOf(arg) Is Byte Then
         bytes = New Byte(0) { CType(arg, Byte) }
      ElseIf TypeOf(arg) Is Int16 Then
         bytes = BitConverter.GetBytes(CType(arg, Int16))
      ElseIf TypeOf(arg) Is Int32 Then
         bytes = BitConverter.GetBytes(CType(arg, Int32))
      ElseIf TypeOf(arg) Is Int64 Then
         bytes = BitConverter.GetBytes(CType(arg, Int64))
      ElseIf TypeOf(arg) Is UInt16 Then
         bytes = BitConverter.GetBytes(CType(arg, UInt16))
      ElseIf TypeOf(arg) Is UInt32 Then
         bytes = BitConverter.GetBytes(CType(arg, UInt64))
      ElseIf TypeOf(arg) Is UInt64 Then
         bytes = BitConverter.GetBytes(CType(arg, UInt64))                  
      ElseIf TypeOf(arg) Is BigInteger Then
         bytes = CType(arg, BigInteger).ToByteArray()
      Else
         Try 
            Return HandleOtherFormats(fmt, arg) 
         Catch e As FormatException 
            Throw New FormatException(String.Format("The format of '{0}' is invalid.", fmt), e)
         End Try
      End If

      Select Case thisFmt.ToUpper()
         ' Binary formatting.
         Case "B"
            base = 2        
         Case "O"
            base = 8
         Case "H"
            base = 16
         ' Handle unsupported format strings.
         Case Else
            Try 
               Return HandleOtherFormats(fmt, arg) 
            Catch e As FormatException 
               Throw New FormatException(String.Format("The format of '{0}' is invalid.", fmt), e)
            End Try
      End Select
      
      ' Return a formatted string.
      Dim numericString As String = String.Empty
      For ctr As Integer = bytes.GetUpperBound(0) To bytes.GetLowerBound(0) Step -1
         Dim byteString As String = Convert.ToString(bytes(ctr), base)
         If base = 2 Then
            byteString = New String("0"c, 8 - byteString.Length) + byteString
         ElseIf base = 8 Then
            byteString = New String("0"c, 4 - byteString.Length) + byteString
         ' Base is 16.
         Else     
            byteString = New String("0"c, 2 - byteString.Length) + byteString
         End If
         numericString +=  byteString + " "
      Next
      Return numericString.Trim()
   End Function
   
   Private Function HandleOtherFormats(fmt As String, arg As Object) As String
      If TypeOf arg Is IFormattable Then
         Return DirectCast(arg, IFormattable).ToString(fmt, CultureInfo.CurrentCulture)
      ElseIf arg IsNot Nothing Then
         Return arg.ToString()
      Else
         Return String.Empty
      End If
   End Function
End Class

MyFormatter can then be used to provide custom formatting by passing a MyFormatter object as the provider parameter of the Format method, as the following example shows.

public class Example
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        Console.WindowWidth = 100;

        byte byteValue = 124;
        Console.WriteLine(String.Format(new MyFormatter(),
                                        "{0} (binary: {0:B}) (hex: {0:H})", byteValue));

        int intValue = 23045;
        Console.WriteLine(String.Format(new MyFormatter(),
                                        "{0} (binary: {0:B}) (hex: {0:H})", intValue));

        ulong ulngValue = 31906574882;
        Console.WriteLine(String.Format(new MyFormatter(),
                                        "{0}\n   (binary: {0:B})\n   (hex: {0:H})",
                                        ulngValue));

        BigInteger bigIntValue = BigInteger.Multiply(Int64.MaxValue, 2);
        Console.WriteLine(String.Format(new MyFormatter(),
                                        "{0}\n   (binary: {0:B})\n   (hex: {0:H})",
                                        bigIntValue));
    }
}
// The example displays the following output:
//    124 (binary: 01111100) (hex: 7c)
//    23045 (binary: 00000000 00000000 01011010 00000101) (hex: 00 00 5a 05)
//    31906574882
//       (binary: 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000111 01101101 11000111 10110010 00100010)
//       (hex: 00 00 00 07 6d c7 b2 22)
//    18446744073709551614
//       (binary: 00000000 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111110)
//       (hex: 00 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff fe)

Console.WindowWidth <- 100

let byteValue = 124uy
String.Format(MyFormatter(), "{0} (binary: {0:B}) (hex: {0:H})", byteValue)
|> printfn "%s"

let intValue = 23045
String.Format(MyFormatter(), "{0} (binary: {0:B}) (hex: {0:H})", intValue)
|> printfn "%s"

let ulngValue = 31906574882uL
String.Format(MyFormatter(), "{0}\n   (binary: {0:B})\n   (hex: {0:H})", ulngValue)
|> printfn "%s"

let bigIntValue = BigInteger.Multiply(Int64.MaxValue, 2)
String.Format(MyFormatter(), "{0}\n   (binary: {0:B})\n   (hex: {0:H})", bigIntValue)
|> printfn "%s"

// The example displays the following output:
//    124 (binary: 01111100) (hex: 7c)
//    23045 (binary: 00000000 00000000 01011010 00000101) (hex: 00 00 5a 05)
//    31906574882
//       (binary: 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000111 01101101 11000111 10110010 00100010)
//       (hex: 00 00 00 07 6d c7 b2 22)
//    18446744073709551614
//       (binary: 00000000 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111110)
//       (hex: 00 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff fe)

Public Module Example
   Public Sub Main
      Console.WindowWidth = 100
      
      Dim byteValue As Byte = 124
      Console.WriteLine(String.Format(New MyFormatter(), _
                                      "{0} (binary: {0:B}) (hex: {0:H})", byteValue))
      
      Dim intValue As Integer = 23045
      Console.WriteLine(String.Format(New MyFormatter(), _
                                      "{0} (binary: {0:B}) (hex: {0:H})", intValue))
      
      Dim ulngValue As ULong = 31906574882
      Console.WriteLine(String.Format(New MyFormatter(), _
                                      "{0} {1}   (binary: {0:B}) {1}   (hex: {0:H})", _
                                      ulngValue, vbCrLf))

      Dim bigIntValue As BigInteger = BigInteger.Multiply(Int64.MaxValue, 2)
      Console.WriteLine(String.Format(New MyFormatter(), _
                                      "{0} {1}   (binary: {0:B}) {1}   (hex: {0:H})", _
                                      bigIntValue, vbCrLf))
   End Sub
End Module
' The example displays the following output:
'    124 (binary: 01111100) (hex: 7c)
'    23045 (binary: 00000000 00000000 01011010 00000101) (hex: 00 00 5a 05)
'    31906574882
'       (binary: 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000111 01101101 11000111 10110010 00100010)
'       (hex: 00 00 00 07 6d c7 b2 22)
'    18446744073709551614
'       (binary: 00000000 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111110)
'       (hex: 00 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff fe)

Remarks

ICustomFormatter.Format is a callback method. It is called by a method that supports custom formatting, such as String.Format(IFormatProvider, String, Object[]) or StringBuilder.AppendFormat(IFormatProvider, String, Object[]). The implementation is called once for each format item in a composite format string. For example, in the following statement, the ICustomFormatter.Format method is called three times.

Console.WriteLine(String.Format(new MyFormatter(),
                                "{0} (binary: {0:B}) (hex: {0:H})", byteValue));

String.Format(MyFormatter(), "{0} (binary: {0:B}) (hex: {0:H})", byteValue)
|> printfn "%s"

Console.WriteLine(String.Format(New MyFormatter(), _
                                "{0} (binary: {0:B}) (hex: {0:H})", byteValue))

The arg parameter is the object in the object list whose zero-based position corresponds to the index of a particular format item.

The format parameter contains a format string, which is the formatString component of a format item. If the format item has no formatString component, the value of format is null. If format is null, depending on the type of arg, you may be able to use the default format specification of your choice.

The formatProvider parameter is the IFormatProvider implementation that provides formatting for arg. Typically, it is an instance of your ICustomFormatter implementation. If formatProvider is null, ignore that parameter.

Your implementation of the Format method must include the following functionality so the .NET Framework can provide formatting you do not support. If your format method does not support a format, determine whether the object being formatted implements the IFormattable interface. If it does, invoke the IFormattable.ToString method of that interface. Otherwise, invoke the default Object.ToString method of the underlying object. The following code illustrates this pattern.

if (arg is IFormattable)
    return ((IFormattable)arg).ToString(format, CultureInfo.CurrentCulture);
else if (arg != null)
    return arg.ToString();

match arg with
| :? IFormattable as arg ->
    arg.ToString(format, CultureInfo.CurrentCulture)
| null ->
    String.Empty
| _ ->
    string arg

If TypeOf arg Is IFormattable Then
   Return DirectCast(arg, IFormattable).ToString(fmt, CultureInfo.CurrentCulture)
ElseIf arg IsNot Nothing Then
   Return arg.ToString()

Applies to

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