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IFormattable.ToString(String, IFormatProvider) Method

Definition

Formats the value of the current instance using the specified format.

C#
public string ToString(string format, IFormatProvider formatProvider);
C#
public string ToString(string? format, IFormatProvider? formatProvider);

Parameters

format
String

The format to use.

-or-

A null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic) to use the default format defined for the type of the IFormattable implementation.

formatProvider
IFormatProvider

The provider to use to format the value.

-or-

A null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic) to obtain the numeric format information from the current locale setting of the operating system.

Returns

The value of the current instance in the specified format.

Examples

The following example demonstrates a Temperature class that implements the ToString method. This code example is part of a larger example provided for the IFormattable class.

C#
using System;
using System.Globalization;

public class Temperature : IFormattable
{
   private decimal temp;

   public Temperature(decimal temperature)
   {
      if (temperature < -273.15m)
        throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException(String.Format("{0} is less than absolute zero.",
                                              temperature));
      this.temp = temperature;
   }

   public decimal Celsius
   {
      get { return temp; }
   }

   public decimal Fahrenheit
   {
      get { return temp * 9 / 5 + 32; }
   }

   public decimal Kelvin
   {
      get { return temp + 273.15m; }
   }

   public override string ToString()
   {
      return this.ToString("G", CultureInfo.CurrentCulture);
   }

   public string ToString(string format)
   {
      return this.ToString(format, CultureInfo.CurrentCulture);
   }

   public string ToString(string format, IFormatProvider provider)
   {
      if (String.IsNullOrEmpty(format)) format = "G";
      if (provider == null) provider = CultureInfo.CurrentCulture;

      switch (format.ToUpperInvariant())
      {
         case "G":
         case "C":
            return temp.ToString("F2", provider) + " °C";
         case "F":
            return Fahrenheit.ToString("F2", provider) + " °F";
         case "K":
            return Kelvin.ToString("F2", provider) + " K";
         default:
            throw new FormatException(String.Format("The {0} format string is not supported.", format));
      }
   }
}

Remarks

The ToString method converts a value to a string representation that can be expressed in multiple ways. Its precise format depends on specific symbols or a specified order defined by specific cultures, professions, or industries. You can call the method directly. It is also called automatically by the Convert.ToString(Object) and Convert.ToString(Object, IFormatProvider) methods, and by methods that use the composite formatting feature in the .NET Framework, such as String.Format(String, Object[]), Console.WriteLine(String, Object[]), and StringBuilder.AppendFormat(String, Object[]). (For more information, see Composite Formatting.)

Composite formatting methods call the ToString method once for each format item in a format string. The parameters passed to the method depend on the specific formatting method that is called and on the content of the format item, as follows:

Note

An object's ToString implementation is called by composite formatting methods only if they are not passed an ICustomFormatter format provider, or if the Format method of the custom format provider returns null.

The .NET Framework includes three format providers, all of which implement the IFormatProvider interface:

  • NumberFormatInfo supplies numeric formatting information, such as the characters to use for decimal and group separators, and the spelling and placement of currency symbols in monetary values.

  • DateTimeFormatInfo supplies date-related and time-related formatting information, such as the position of the month, the day, and the year in a date pattern.

  • CultureInfo contains the default formatting information in a specific culture, including the numeric format information, and date-related and time-related formatting information.

In addition, you can define your own custom format provider.

Notes to Implementers

The ToString(String, IFormatProvider) method must support the "G" (general) format specifier. Besides the "G" specifier, the class can define the list of format specifiers that it supports. In addition, the class must be prepared to handle a format specifier that is null. For more information about formatting and formatting codes, see Formatting Types.

Applies to

Product Versions
.NET Core 1.0, Core 1.1, Core 2.0, Core 2.1, Core 2.2, Core 3.0, Core 3.1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
.NET Framework 1.1, 2.0, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 4.5.1, 4.5.2, 4.6, 4.6.1, 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.7.1, 4.7.2, 4.8, 4.8.1
.NET Standard 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 2.0, 2.1
UWP 10.0

See also