System.String.Format method
This article provides supplementary remarks to the reference documentation for this API.
Important
Instead of calling the String.Format method or using composite format strings, you can use interpolated strings if your language supports them. An interpolated string is a string that contains interpolated expressions. Each interpolated expression is resolved with the expression's value and included in the result string when the string is assigned. For more information, see String interpolation (C# Reference) and Interpolated Strings (Visual Basic Reference).
Examples
Numerous examples that call the Format method are interspersed throughout this article. You can also download a complete set of String.Format examples, which are included a .NET Core project for C#.
The following are some of the examples included in the article:
Create a format string
Insert a string
The format item
Format items that have the same index
Control formatted output
Control formatting
Control spacing
Control alignment
Control the number of integral digits
Control the number of digits after the decimal separator
Include literal braces in the result string
Make format strings culture-sensitive
Make format strings culture-sensitive
Customize the formatting operation
A custom formatting operation
An intercept provider and Roman numeral formatter
Get started with the String.Format method
Use String.Format if you need to insert the value of an object, variable, or expression into another string. For example, you can insert the value of a Decimal value into a string to display it to the user as a single string:
Decimal pricePerOunce = 17.36m;
String s = String.Format("The current price is {0} per ounce.",
pricePerOunce);
Console.WriteLine(s);
// Result: The current price is 17.36 per ounce.
let pricePerOunce = 17.36m
String.Format("The current price is {0} per ounce.", pricePerOunce)
|> printfn "%s"
// Result: The current price is 17.36 per ounce.
Dim pricePerOunce As Decimal = 17.36D
Dim s As String = String.Format("The current price is {0} per ounce.",
pricePerOunce)
' Result: The current price is 17.36 per ounce.
And you can control that value's formatting:
Decimal pricePerOunce = 17.36m;
String s = String.Format("The current price is {0:C2} per ounce.",
pricePerOunce);
Console.WriteLine(s);
// Result if current culture is en-US:
// The current price is $17.36 per ounce.
let pricePerOunce = 17.36m
String.Format("The current price is {0:C2} per ounce.", pricePerOunce)
|> printfn "%s"
// Result if current culture is en-US:
// The current price is $17.36 per ounce.
Dim pricePerOunce As Decimal = 17.36D
Dim s As String = String.Format("The current price is {0:C2} per ounce.",
pricePerOunce)
' Result if current culture is en-US:
' The current price is $17.36 per ounce.
Besides formatting, you can also control alignment and spacing.
Insert a string
String.Format starts with a format string, followed by one or more objects or expressions that will be converted to strings and inserted at a specified place in the format string. For example:
decimal temp = 20.4m;
string s = String.Format("The temperature is {0}°C.", temp);
Console.WriteLine(s);
// Displays 'The temperature is 20.4°C.'
let temp = 20.4m
String.Format("The temperature is {0}°C.", temp)
|> printfn "%s"
// Displays 'The temperature is 20.4°C.'
Dim temp As Decimal = 20.4D
Dim s As String = String.Format("The temperature is {0}°C.", temp)
Console.WriteLine(s)
' Displays 'The temperature is 20.4°C.'
The {0} in the format string is a format item. 0 is the index of the object whose string value will be inserted at that position. (Indexes start at 0.) If the object to be inserted is not a string, its ToString method is called to convert it to one before inserting it in the result string.
Here's another example that uses two format items and two objects in the object list:
string s = String.Format("At {0}, the temperature is {1}°C.",
DateTime.Now, 20.4);
Console.WriteLine(s);
// Output similar to: 'At 4/10/2015 9:29:41 AM, the temperature is 20.4°C.'
String.Format("At {0}, the temperature is {1}°C.", DateTime.Now, 20.4)
|> printfn "%s"
// Output similar to: 'At 4/10/2015 9:29:41 AM, the temperature is 20.4°C.'
Dim s As String = String.Format("At {0}, the temperature is {1}°C.",
Date.Now, 20.4)
' Output similar to: 'At 4/10/2015 9:29:41 AM, the temperature is 20.4°C.'
You can have as many format items and as many objects in the object list as you want, as long as the index of every format item has a matching object in the object list. You also don't have to worry about which overload you call; the compiler will select the appropriate one for you.
Control formatting
You can follow the index in a format item with a format string to control how an object is formatted. For example, {0:d} applies the "d" format string to the first object in the object list. Here is an example with a single object and two format items:
string s = String.Format("It is now {0:d} at {0:t}", DateTime.Now);
Console.WriteLine(s);
// Output similar to: 'It is now 4/10/2015 at 10:04 AM'
String.Format("It is now {0:d} at {0:t}", DateTime.Now)
|> printfn "%s"
// Output similar to: 'It is now 4/10/2015 at 10:04 AM'
Dim s As String = String.Format("It is now {0:d} at {0:t}",
Date.Now)
' Output similar to: 'It is now 4/10/2015 at 10:04 AM'
A number of types support format strings, including all numeric types (both standard and custom format strings), all dates and times (both standard and custom format strings) and time intervals (both standard and custom format strings), all enumeration types enumeration types, and GUIDs. You can also add support for format strings to your own types.
Control spacing
You can define the width of the string that is inserted into the result string by using syntax such as {0,12}, which inserts a 12-character string. In this case, the string representation of the first object is right-aligned in the 12-character field. (If the string representation of the first object is more than 12 characters in length, though, the preferred field width is ignored, and the entire string is inserted into the result string.)
The following example defines a 6-character field to hold the string "Year" and some year strings, as well as an 15-character field to hold the string "Population" and some population data. Note that the characters are right-aligned in the field.
int[] years = { 2013, 2014, 2015 };
int[] population = { 1025632, 1105967, 1148203 };
var sb = new System.Text.StringBuilder();
sb.Append(String.Format("{0,6} {1,15}\n\n", "Year", "Population"));
for (int index = 0; index < years.Length; index++)
sb.Append(String.Format("{0,6} {1,15:N0}\n", years[index], population[index]));
Console.WriteLine(sb);
// Result:
// Year Population
//
// 2013 1,025,632
// 2014 1,105,967
// 2015 1,148,203
open System
open System.Text
let years = [| 2013; 2014; 2015 |]
let population = [| 1025632; 1105967; 1148203 |]
let sb = StringBuilder()
sb.Append(String.Format("{0,6} {1,15}\n\n", "Year", "Population")) |> ignore
for i = 0 to years.Length - 1 do
sb.Append(String.Format("{0,6} {1,15:N0}\n", years[i], population[i])) |> ignore
printfn $"{sb}"
// Result:
// Year Population
//
// 2013 1,025,632
// 2014 1,105,967
// 2015 1,148,203
Dim years() As Integer = {2013, 2014, 2015}
Dim population() As Integer = {1025632, 1105967, 1148203}
Dim sb As New StringBuilder()
sb.Append(String.Format("{0,6} {1,15}{2}{2}",
"Year", "Population", vbCrLf))
For index As Integer = 0 To years.Length - 1
sb.AppendFormat("{0,6} {1,15:N0}{2}",
years(index), population(index), vbCrLf)
Next
' Result:
' Year Population
'
' 2013 1,025,632
' 2014 1,105,967
' 2015 1,148,203
Control alignment
By default, strings are right-aligned within their field if you specify a field width. To left-align strings in a field, you preface the field width with a negative sign, such as {0,-12} to define a 12-character left-aligned field.
The following example is similar to the previous one, except that it left-aligns both labels and data.
int[] years = { 2013, 2014, 2015 };
int[] population = { 1025632, 1105967, 1148203 };
String s = String.Format("{0,-10} {1,-10}\n\n", "Year", "Population");
for (int index = 0; index < years.Length; index++)
s += String.Format("{0,-10} {1,-10:N0}\n",
years[index], population[index]);
Console.WriteLine($"\n{s}");
// Result:
// Year Population
//
// 2013 1,025,632
// 2014 1,105,967
// 2015 1,148,203
let years = [| 2013; 2014; 2015 |]
let population = [| 1025632; 1105967; 1148203 |]
let mutable s = String.Format("{0,-10} {1,-10}\n\n", "Year", "Population")
for i = 0 to years.Length - 1 do
s <- s + String.Format("{0,-10} {1,-10:N0}\n", years[i], population[i])
printfn $"\n{s}"
// Result:
// Year Population
//
// 2013 1,025,632
// 2014 1,105,967
// 2015 1,148,203
Dim years() As Integer = {2013, 2014, 2015}
Dim population() As Integer = {1025632, 1105967, 1148203}
Dim s As String = String.Format("{0,-10} {1,-10}{2}{2}",
"Year", "Population", vbCrLf)
For index As Integer = 0 To years.Length - 1
s += String.Format("{0,-10} {1,-10:N0}{2}",
years(index), population(index), vbCrLf)
Next
' Result:
' Year Population
'
' 2013 1,025,632
' 2014 1,105,967
' 2015 1,148,203
String.Format makes use of the composite formatting feature. For more information, see Composite Formatting.
Which method do I call?
| To | Call |
|---|---|
| Format one or more objects by using the conventions of the current culture. | Except for the overloads that include a provider parameter, the remaining Format overloads include a String parameter followed by one or more object parameters. Because of this, you don't have to determine which Format overload you intend to call. Your language compiler selects the appropriate overload from among the overloads that don't have a provider parameter, based on your argument list. For example, if your argument list has five arguments, the compiler calls the Format(String, Object[]) method. |
| Format one or more objects by using the conventions of a specific culture. | Each Format overload that begins with a provider parameter is followed by a String parameter and one or more object parameters. Because of this, you don't have to determine which specific Format overload you intend to call. Your language compiler selects the appropriate overload from among the overloads that have a provider parameter, based on your argument list. For example, if your argument list has five arguments, the compiler calls the Format(IFormatProvider, String, Object[]) method. |
| Perform a custom formatting operation either with an ICustomFormatter implementation or an IFormattable implementation. | Any of the four overloads with a provider parameter. The compiler selects the appropriate overload from among the overloads that have a provider parameter, based on your argument list. |
The Format method in brief
Each overload of the Format method uses the composite formatting feature to include zero-based indexed placeholders, called format items, in a composite format string. At run time, each format item is replaced with the string representation of the corresponding argument in a parameter list. If the value of the argument is null, the format item is replaced with String.Empty. For example, the following call to the Format(String, Object, Object, Object) method includes a format string with three format items, {0}, {1}, and {2}, and an argument list with three items.
DateTime dat = new DateTime(2012, 1, 17, 9, 30, 0);
string city = "Chicago";
int temp = -16;
string output = String.Format("At {0} in {1}, the temperature was {2} degrees.",
dat, city, temp);
Console.WriteLine(output);
// The example displays output like the following:
// At 1/17/2012 9:30:00 AM in Chicago, the temperature was -16 degrees.
open System
let dat = DateTime(2012, 1, 17, 9, 30, 0)
let city = "Chicago"
let temp = -16
String.Format("At {0} in {1}, the temperature was {2} degrees.", dat, city, temp)
|> printfn "%s"
// The example displays output like the following:
// At 1/17/2012 9:30:00 AM in Chicago, the temperature was -16 degrees.
Dim dat As Date = #1/17/2012 9:30AM#
Dim city As String = "Chicago"
Dim temp As Integer = -16
Dim output As String = String.Format("At {0} in {1}, the temperature was {2} degrees.",
dat, city, temp)
Console.WriteLine(output)
' The example displays the following output:
' At 1/17/2012 9:30:00 AM in Chicago, the temperature was -16 degrees.
The format item
A format item has this syntax:
{index[,alignment][:formatString]}
Brackets denote optional elements. The opening and closing braces are required. (To include a literal opening or closing brace in the format string, see the Escaping Braces section in the Composite Formatting article.)
For example, a format item to format a currency value might appear like this:
var value = String.Format("{0,-10:C}", 126347.89m);
Console.WriteLine(value);
open System
String.Format("{0,-10:C}", 126347.89m)
|> printfn "%s"
String.Format("{0,-10:C}", 126347.89D)
A format item has the following elements:
index
The zero-based index of the argument whose string representation is to be included at this position in the string. If this argument is null, an empty string will be included at this position in the string.
alignment
Optional. A signed integer that indicates the total length of the field into which the argument is inserted and whether it is right-aligned (a positive integer) or left-aligned (a negative integer). If you omit alignment, the string representation of the corresponding argument is inserted in a field with no leading or trailing spaces.
If the value of alignment is less than the length of the argument to be inserted, alignment is ignored and the length of the string representation of the argument is used as the field width.
formatString
Optional. A string that specifies the format of the corresponding argument's result string. If you omit formatString, the corresponding argument's parameterless ToString method is called to produce its string representation. If you specify formatString, the argument referenced by the format item must implement the IFormattable interface. Types that support format strings include:
All integral and floating-point types. (See Standard Numeric Format Strings and Custom Numeric Format Strings.)
DateTime and DateTimeOffset. (See Standard Date and Time Format Strings and Custom Date and Time Format Strings.)
All enumeration types. (See Enumeration Format Strings.)
TimeSpan values. (See Standard TimeSpan Format Strings and Custom TimeSpan Format Strings.)
GUIDs. (See the Guid.ToString(String) method.)
However, note that any custom type can implement IFormattable or extend an existing type's IFormattable implementation.
The following example uses the alignment and formatString arguments to produce formatted output.
// Create array of 5-tuples with population data for three U.S. cities, 1940-1950.
Tuple<string, DateTime, int, DateTime, int>[] cities =
{ Tuple.Create("Los Angeles", new DateTime(1940, 1, 1), 1504277,
new DateTime(1950, 1, 1), 1970358),
Tuple.Create("New York", new DateTime(1940, 1, 1), 7454995,
new DateTime(1950, 1, 1), 7891957),
Tuple.Create("Chicago", new DateTime(1940, 1, 1), 3396808,
new DateTime(1950, 1, 1), 3620962),
Tuple.Create("Detroit", new DateTime(1940, 1, 1), 1623452,
new DateTime(1950, 1, 1), 1849568) };
// Display header
var header = String.Format("{0,-12}{1,8}{2,12}{1,8}{2,12}{3,14}\n",
"City", "Year", "Population", "Change (%)");
Console.WriteLine(header);
foreach (var city in cities) {
var output = String.Format("{0,-12}{1,8:yyyy}{2,12:N0}{3,8:yyyy}{4,12:N0}{5,14:P1}",
city.Item1, city.Item2, city.Item3, city.Item4, city.Item5,
(city.Item5 - city.Item3)/ (double)city.Item3);
Console.WriteLine(output);
}
// The example displays the following output:
// City Year Population Year Population Change (%)
//
// Los Angeles 1940 1,504,277 1950 1,970,358 31.0 %
// New York 1940 7,454,995 1950 7,891,957 5.9 %
// Chicago 1940 3,396,808 1950 3,620,962 6.6 %
// Detroit 1940 1,623,452 1950 1,849,568 13.9 %
// Create a list of 5-tuples with population data for three U.S. cities, 1940-1950.
let cities =
[ "Los Angeles", DateTime(1940, 1, 1), 1504277, DateTime(1950, 1, 1), 1970358
"New York", DateTime(1940, 1, 1), 7454995, DateTime(1950, 1, 1), 7891957
"Chicago", DateTime(1940, 1, 1), 3396808, DateTime(1950, 1, 1), 3620962
"Detroit", DateTime(1940, 1, 1), 1623452, DateTime(1950, 1, 1), 1849568 ]
// Display header
String.Format("{0,-12}{1,8}{2,12}{1,8}{2,12}{3,14}\n", "City", "Year", "Population", "Change (%)")
|> printfn "%s"
for name, year1, pop1, year2, pop2 in cities do
String.Format("{0,-12}{1,8:yyyy}{2,12:N0}{3,8:yyyy}{4,12:N0}{5,14:P1}",
name, year1, pop1, year2, pop2,
double (pop2 - pop1) / double pop1)
|> printfn "%s"
// The example displays the following output:
// City Year Population Year Population Change (%)
//
// Los Angeles 1940 1,504,277 1950 1,970,358 31.0 %
// New York 1940 7,454,995 1950 7,891,957 5.9 %
// Chicago 1940 3,396,808 1950 3,620,962 6.6 %
// Detroit 1940 1,623,452 1950 1,849,568 13.9 %
Module Example3
Public Sub Main()
' Create array of 5-tuples with population data for three U.S. cities, 1940-1950.
Dim cities() =
{Tuple.Create("Los Angeles", #1/1/1940#, 1504277, #1/1/1950#, 1970358),
Tuple.Create("New York", #1/1/1940#, 7454995, #1/1/1950#, 7891957),
Tuple.Create("Chicago", #1/1/1940#, 3396808, #1/1/1950#, 3620962),
Tuple.Create("Detroit", #1/1/1940#, 1623452, #1/1/1950#, 1849568)}
' Display header
Dim header As String = String.Format("{0,-12}{1,8}{2,12}{1,8}{2,12}{3,14}",
"City", "Year", "Population", "Change (%)")
Console.WriteLine(header)
Console.WriteLine()
For Each city In cities
Dim output = String.Format("{0,-12}{1,8:yyyy}{2,12:N0}{3,8:yyyy}{4,12:N0}{5,14:P1}",
city.Item1, city.Item2, city.Item3, city.Item4, city.Item5,
(city.Item5 - city.Item3) / city.Item3)
Console.WriteLine(output)
Next
End Sub
End Module
' The example displays the following output:
' City Year Population Year Population Change (%)
'
' Los Angeles 1940 1,504,277 1950 1,970,358 31.0 %
' New York 1940 7,454,995 1950 7,891,957 5.9 %
' Chicago 1940 3,396,808 1950 3,620,962 6.6 %
' Detroit 1940 1,623,452 1950 1,849,568 13.9 %
How arguments are formatted
Format items are processed sequentially from the beginning of the string. Each format item has an index that corresponds to an object in the method's argument list. The Format method retrieves the argument and derives its string representation as follows:
If the argument is
null, the method inserts String.Empty into the result string. You don't have to be concerned with handling a NullReferenceException for null arguments.If you call the Format(IFormatProvider, String, Object[]) overload and the
providerobject's IFormatProvider.GetFormat implementation returns a non-null ICustomFormatter implementation, the argument is passed to its ICustomFormatter.Format(String, Object, IFormatProvider) method. If the format item includes a formatString argument, it is passed as the first argument to the method. If the ICustomFormatter implementation is available and produces a non-null string, that string is returned as the string representation of the argument; otherwise, the next step executes.If the argument implements the IFormattable interface, its IFormattable.ToString implementation is called.
The argument's parameterless
ToStringmethod, which either overrides or inherits from a base class implementation, is called.
For an example that intercepts calls to the ICustomFormatter.Format method and allows you to see what information the Format method passes to a formatting method for each format item in a composite format string, see Example: An intercept provider and Roman numeral formatter.
For more information, see Processing order.
Format items that have the same index
The Format method throws a FormatException exception if the index of an index item is greater than or equal to the number of arguments in the argument list. However, format can include more format items than there are arguments, as long as multiple format items have the same index. In the call to the Format(String, Object) method in following example, the argument list has a single argument, but the format string includes two format items: one displays the decimal value of a number, and the other displays its hexadecimal value.
short[] values= { Int16.MinValue, -27, 0, 1042, Int16.MaxValue };
Console.WriteLine("{0,10} {1,10}\n", "Decimal", "Hex");
foreach (short value in values)
{
string formatString = String.Format("{0,10:G}: {0,10:X}", value);
Console.WriteLine(formatString);
}
// The example displays the following output:
// Decimal Hex
//
// -32768: 8000
// -27: FFE5
// 0: 0
// 1042: 412
// 32767: 7FFF
open System
let values= [| Int16.MinValue; -27s; 0s; 1042s; Int16.MaxValue |]
printfn "%10s %10s\n" "Decimal" "Hex"
for value in values do
String.Format("{0,10:G}: {0,10:X}", value)
|> printfn "%s"
// The example displays the following output:
// Decimal Hex
//
// -32768: 8000
// -27: FFE5
// 0: 0
// 1042: 412
// 32767: 7FFF
Module Example1
Public Sub Main()
Dim values() As Short = {Int16.MinValue, -27, 0, 1042, Int16.MaxValue}
Console.WriteLine("{0,10} {1,10}", "Decimal", "Hex")
Console.WriteLine()
For Each value As Short In values
Dim formatString As String = String.Format("{0,10:G}: {0,10:X}", value)
Console.WriteLine(formatString)
Next
End Sub
End Module
' The example displays the following output:
' Decimal Hex
'
' -32768: 8000
' -27: FFE5
' 0: 0
' 1042: 412
' 32767: 7FFF
Format and culture
Generally, objects in the argument list are converted to their string representations by using the conventions of the current culture, which is returned by the CultureInfo.CurrentCulture property. You can control this behavior by calling one of the overloads of Format that includes a provider parameter. The provider parameter is an IFormatProvider implementation that supplies custom and culture-specific formatting information that is used to moderate the formatting process.
The IFormatProvider interface has a single member, GetFormat, which is responsible for returning the object that provides formatting information. .NET has three IFormatProvider implementations that provide culture-specific formatting:
- CultureInfo. Its GetFormat method returns a culture-specific NumberFormatInfo object for formatting numeric values and a culture-specific DateTimeFormatInfo object for formatting date and time values.
- DateTimeFormatInfo, which is used for culture-specific formatting of date and time values. Its GetFormat method returns itself.
- NumberFormatInfo, which is used for culture-specific formatting of numeric values. Its GetFormat(Type) method returns itself.
Custom formatting operations
You can also call the any of the overloads of the Format method that have a provider parameter of type IFormatProvider to perform custom formatting operations. For example, you could format an integer as an identification number or as a telephone number. To perform custom formatting, your provider argument must implement both the IFormatProvider and ICustomFormatter interfaces. When the Format method is passed an ICustomFormatter implementation as the provider argument, the Format method calls its IFormatProvider.GetFormat implementation and requests an object of type ICustomFormatter. It then calls the returned ICustomFormatter object's Format method to format each format item in the composite string passed to it.
For more information about providing custom formatting solutions, see How to: Define and Use Custom Numeric Format Providers and ICustomFormatter. For an example that converts integers to formatted custom numbers, see Example: A custom formatting operation. For an example that converts unsigned bytes to Roman numerals, see Example: An intercept provider and Roman numeral formatter.
Example: A custom formatting operation
This example defines a format provider that formats an integer value as a customer account number in the form x-xxxxx-xx.
using System;
public class TestFormatter
{
public static void Main()
{
int acctNumber = 79203159;
Console.WriteLine(String.Format(new CustomerFormatter(), "{0}", acctNumber));
Console.WriteLine(String.Format(new CustomerFormatter(), "{0:G}", acctNumber));
Console.WriteLine(String.Format(new CustomerFormatter(), "{0:S}", acctNumber));
Console.WriteLine(String.Format(new CustomerFormatter(), "{0:P}", acctNumber));
try {
Console.WriteLine(String.Format(new CustomerFormatter(), "{0:X}", acctNumber));
}
catch (FormatException e) {
Console.WriteLine(e.Message);
}
}
}
public class CustomerFormatter : IFormatProvider, ICustomFormatter
{
public object GetFormat(Type formatType)
{
if (formatType == typeof(ICustomFormatter))
return this;
else
return null;
}
public string Format(string format,
object arg,
IFormatProvider formatProvider)
{
if (! this.Equals(formatProvider))
{
return null;
}
else
{
if (String.IsNullOrEmpty(format))
format = "G";
string customerString = arg.ToString();
if (customerString.Length < 8)
customerString = customerString.PadLeft(8, '0');
format = format.ToUpper();
switch (format)
{
case "G":
return customerString.Substring(0, 1) + "-" +
customerString.Substring(1, 5) + "-" +
customerString.Substring(6);
case "S":
return customerString.Substring(0, 1) + "/" +
customerString.Substring(1, 5) + "/" +
customerString.Substring(6);
case "P":
return customerString.Substring(0, 1) + "." +
customerString.Substring(1, 5) + "." +
customerString.Substring(6);
default:
throw new FormatException(
String.Format("The '{0}' format specifier is not supported.", format));
}
}
}
}
// The example displays the following output:
// 7-92031-59
// 7-92031-59
// 7/92031/59
// 7.92031.59
// The 'X' format specifier is not supported.
open System
type CustomerFormatter() =
interface IFormatProvider with
member this.GetFormat(formatType) =
if formatType = typeof<ICustomFormatter> then
this
else
null
interface ICustomFormatter with
member this.Format(format, arg, formatProvider: IFormatProvider) =
if this.Equals formatProvider |> not then
null
else
let format =
if String.IsNullOrEmpty format then "G"
else format.ToUpper()
let customerString =
let s = string arg
if s.Length < 8 then
s.PadLeft(8, '0')
else s
match format with
| "G" ->
customerString.Substring(0, 1) + "-" +
customerString.Substring(1, 5) + "-" +
customerString.Substring 6
| "S" ->
customerString.Substring(0, 1) + "/" +
customerString.Substring(1, 5) + "/" +
customerString.Substring 6
| "P" ->
customerString.Substring(0, 1) + "." +
customerString.Substring(1, 5) + "." +
customerString.Substring 6
| _ ->
raise (FormatException $"The '{format}' format specifier is not supported.")
let acctNumber = 79203159
String.Format(CustomerFormatter(), "{0}", acctNumber)
|> printfn "%s"
String.Format(CustomerFormatter(), "{0:G}", acctNumber)
|> printfn "%s"
String.Format(CustomerFormatter(), "{0:S}", acctNumber)
|> printfn "%s"
String.Format(CustomerFormatter(), "{0:P}", acctNumber)
|> printfn "%s"
try
String.Format(CustomerFormatter(), "{0:X}", acctNumber)
|> printfn "%s"
with :? FormatException as e ->
printfn $"{e.Message}"
// The example displays the following output:
// 7-92031-59
// 7-92031-59
// 7/92031/59
// 7.92031.59
// The 'X' format specifier is not supported.
Module TestFormatter
Public Sub Main()
Dim acctNumber As Integer = 79203159
Console.WriteLine(String.Format(New CustomerFormatter, "{0}", acctNumber))
Console.WriteLine(String.Format(New CustomerFormatter, "{0:G}", acctNumber))
Console.WriteLine(String.Format(New CustomerFormatter, "{0:S}", acctNumber))
Console.WriteLine(String.Format(New CustomerFormatter, "{0:P}", acctNumber))
Try
Console.WriteLine(String.Format(New CustomerFormatter, "{0:X}", acctNumber))
Catch e As FormatException
Console.WriteLine(e.Message)
End Try
End Sub
End Module
Public Class CustomerFormatter : Implements IFormatProvider, ICustomFormatter
Public Function GetFormat(type As Type) As Object _
Implements IFormatProvider.GetFormat
If type Is GetType(ICustomFormatter) Then
Return Me
Else
Return Nothing
End If
End Function
Public Function Format(fmt As String, _
arg As Object, _
formatProvider As IFormatProvider) As String _
Implements ICustomFormatter.Format
If Not Me.Equals(formatProvider) Then
Return Nothing
Else
If String.IsNullOrEmpty(fmt) Then fmt = "G"
Dim customerString As String = arg.ToString()
if customerString.Length < 8 Then _
customerString = customerString.PadLeft(8, "0"c)
Select Case fmt
Case "G"
Return customerString.Substring(0, 1) & "-" & _
customerString.Substring(1, 5) & "-" & _
customerString.Substring(6)
Case "S"
Return customerString.Substring(0, 1) & "/" & _
customerString.Substring(1, 5) & "/" & _
customerString.Substring(6)
Case "P"
Return customerString.Substring(0, 1) & "." & _
customerString.Substring(1, 5) & "." & _
customerString.Substring(6)
Case Else
Throw New FormatException( _
String.Format("The '{0}' format specifier is not supported.", fmt))
End Select
End If
End Function
End Class
' The example displays the following output:
' 7-92031-59
' 7-92031-59
' 7/92031/59
' 7.92031.59
' The 'X' format specifier is not supported.
Example: An intercept provider and Roman numeral formatter
This example defines a custom format provider that implements the ICustomFormatter and IFormatProvider interfaces to do two things:
It displays the parameters passed to its ICustomFormatter.Format implementation. This enables us to see what parameters the Format(IFormatProvider, String, Object[]) method is passing to the custom formatting implementation for each object that it tries to format. This can be useful when you're debugging your application.
If the object to be formatted is an unsigned byte value that is to be formatted by using the "R" standard format string, the custom formatter formats the numeric value as a Roman numeral.
using System;
using System.Globalization;
public class InterceptProvider : IFormatProvider, ICustomFormatter
{
public object GetFormat(Type formatType)
{
if (formatType == typeof(ICustomFormatter))
return this;
else
return null;
}
public string Format(String format, Object obj, IFormatProvider provider)
{
// Display information about method call.
string formatString = format ?? "<null>";
Console.WriteLine("Provider: {0}, Object: {1}, Format String: {2}",
provider.GetType().Name, obj ?? "<null>", formatString);
if (obj == null) return String.Empty;
// If this is a byte and the "R" format string, format it with Roman numerals.
if (obj is Byte && formatString.ToUpper().Equals("R")) {
Byte value = (Byte) obj;
int remainder;
int result;
String returnString = String.Empty;
// Get the hundreds digit(s)
result = Math.DivRem(value, 100, out remainder);
if (result > 0)
returnString = new String('C', result);
value = (Byte) remainder;
// Get the 50s digit
result = Math.DivRem(value, 50, out remainder);
if (result == 1)
returnString += "L";
value = (Byte) remainder;
// Get the tens digit.
result = Math.DivRem(value, 10, out remainder);
if (result > 0)
returnString += new String('X', result);
value = (Byte) remainder;
// Get the fives digit.
result = Math.DivRem(value, 5, out remainder);
if (result > 0)
returnString += "V";
value = (Byte) remainder;
// Add the ones digit.
if (remainder > 0)
returnString += new String('I', remainder);
// Check whether we have too many X characters.
int pos = returnString.IndexOf("XXXX");
if (pos >= 0) {
int xPos = returnString.IndexOf("L");
if (xPos >= 0 & xPos == pos - 1)
returnString = returnString.Replace("LXXXX", "XC");
else
returnString = returnString.Replace("XXXX", "XL");
}
// Check whether we have too many I characters
pos = returnString.IndexOf("IIII");
if (pos >= 0)
if (returnString.IndexOf("V") >= 0)
returnString = returnString.Replace("VIIII", "IX");
else
returnString = returnString.Replace("IIII", "IV");
return returnString;
}
// Use default for all other formatting.
if (obj is IFormattable)
return ((IFormattable) obj).ToString(format, CultureInfo.CurrentCulture);
else
return obj.ToString();
}
}
public class Example
{
public static void Main()
{
int n = 10;
double value = 16.935;
DateTime day = DateTime.Now;
InterceptProvider provider = new InterceptProvider();
Console.WriteLine(String.Format(provider, "{0:N0}: {1:C2} on {2:d}\n", n, value, day));
Console.WriteLine(String.Format(provider, "{0}: {1:F}\n", "Today: ",
(DayOfWeek) DateTime.Now.DayOfWeek));
Console.WriteLine(String.Format(provider, "{0:X}, {1}, {2}\n",
(Byte) 2, (Byte) 12, (Byte) 199));
Console.WriteLine(String.Format(provider, "{0:R}, {1:R}, {2:R}\n",
(Byte) 2, (Byte) 12, (Byte) 199));
}
}
// The example displays the following output:
// Provider: InterceptProvider, Object: 10, Format String: N0
// Provider: InterceptProvider, Object: 16.935, Format String: C2
// Provider: InterceptProvider, Object: 1/31/2013 6:10:28 PM, Format String: d
// 10: $16.94 on 1/31/2013
//
// Provider: InterceptProvider, Object: Today: , Format String: <null>
// Provider: InterceptProvider, Object: Thursday, Format String: F
// Today: : Thursday
//
// Provider: InterceptProvider, Object: 2, Format String: X
// Provider: InterceptProvider, Object: 12, Format String: <null>
// Provider: InterceptProvider, Object: 199, Format String: <null>
// 2, 12, 199
//
// Provider: InterceptProvider, Object: 2, Format String: R
// Provider: InterceptProvider, Object: 12, Format String: R
// Provider: InterceptProvider, Object: 199, Format String: R
// II, XII, CXCIX
open System
open System.Globalization
type InterceptProvider() =
interface IFormatProvider with
member this.GetFormat(formatType) =
if formatType = typeof<ICustomFormatter> then
this
else
null
interface ICustomFormatter with
member _.Format(format, obj, provider: IFormatProvider) =
// Display information about method call.
let formatString =
if format = null then "<null>" else format
printfn $"Provider: {provider.GetType().Name}, Object: %A{obj}, Format String: %s{formatString}"
if obj = null then
String.Empty
else
// If this is a byte and the "R" format string, format it with Roman numerals.
match obj with
| :? byte as value when formatString.ToUpper().Equals "R" ->
let mutable returnString = String.Empty
// Get the hundreds digit(s)
let struct (result, remainder) = Math.DivRem(value, 100uy)
if result > 0uy then
returnString <- String('C', int result)
let value = byte remainder
// Get the 50s digit
let struct (result, remainder) = Math.DivRem(value, 50uy)
if result = 1uy then
returnString <- returnString + "L"
let value = byte remainder
// Get the tens digit.
let struct (result, remainder) = Math.DivRem(value, 10uy)
if result > 0uy then
returnString <- returnString + String('X', int result)
let value = byte remainder
// Get the fives digit.
let struct (result, remainder) = Math.DivRem(value, 5uy)
if result > 0uy then
returnString <- returnString + "V"
let value = byte remainder
// Add the ones digit.
if remainder > 0uy then
returnString <- returnString + String('I', int remainder)
// Check whether we have too many X characters.
let pos = returnString.IndexOf "XXXX"
if pos >= 0 then
let xPos = returnString.IndexOf "L"
returnString <-
if xPos >= 0 && xPos = pos - 1 then
returnString.Replace("LXXXX", "XC")
else
returnString.Replace("XXXX", "XL")
// Check whether we have too many I characters
let pos = returnString.IndexOf "IIII"
if pos >= 0 then
returnString <-
if returnString.IndexOf "V" >= 0 then
returnString.Replace("VIIII", "IX")
else
returnString.Replace("IIII", "IV")
returnString
// Use default for all other formatting.
| :? IFormattable as x ->
x.ToString(format, CultureInfo.CurrentCulture)
| _ ->
string obj
let n = 10
let value = 16.935
let day = DateTime.Now
let provider = InterceptProvider()
String.Format(provider, "{0:N0}: {1:C2} on {2:d}\n", n, value, day)
|> printfn "%s"
String.Format(provider, "{0}: {1:F}\n", "Today: ", DateTime.Now.DayOfWeek)
|> printfn "%s"
String.Format(provider, "{0:X}, {1}, {2}\n", 2uy, 12uy, 199uy)
|> printfn "%s"
String.Format(provider, "{0:R}, {1:R}, {2:R}\n", 2uy, 12uy, 199uy)
|> printfn "%s"
// The example displays the following output:
// Provider: InterceptProvider, Object: 10, Format String: N0
// Provider: InterceptProvider, Object: 16.935, Format String: C2
// Provider: InterceptProvider, Object: 1/31/2013 6:10:28 PM, Format String: d
// 10: $16.94 on 1/31/2013
//
// Provider: InterceptProvider, Object: Today: , Format String: <null>
// Provider: InterceptProvider, Object: Thursday, Format String: F
// Today: : Thursday
//
// Provider: InterceptProvider, Object: 2, Format String: X
// Provider: InterceptProvider, Object: 12, Format String: <null>
// Provider: InterceptProvider, Object: 199, Format String: <null>
// 2, 12, 199
//
// Provider: InterceptProvider, Object: 2, Format String: R
// Provider: InterceptProvider, Object: 12, Format String: R
// Provider: InterceptProvider, Object: 199, Format String: R
// II, XII, CXCIX
Imports System.Globalization
Public Class InterceptProvider : Implements IFormatProvider, ICustomFormatter
Public Function GetFormat(formatType As Type) As Object _
Implements IFormatProvider.GetFormat
If formatType Is GetType(ICustomFormatter) Then
Return Me
Else
Return Nothing
End If
End Function
Public Function Format(fmt As String, obj As Object, provider As IFormatProvider) As String _
Implements ICustomFormatter.Format
Dim formatString As String = If(fmt IsNot Nothing, fmt, "<null>")
Console.WriteLine("Provider: {0}, Object: {1}, Format String: {2}",
provider, If(obj IsNot Nothing, obj, "<null>"), formatString)
If obj Is Nothing Then Return String.Empty
' If this is a byte and the "R" format string, format it with Roman numerals.
If TypeOf(obj) Is Byte AndAlso formatString.ToUpper.Equals("R") Then
Dim value As Byte = CByte(obj)
Dim remainder As Integer
Dim result As Integer
Dim returnString As String = String.Empty
' Get the hundreds digit(s)
result = Math.DivRem(value, 100, remainder)
If result > 0 Then returnString = New String("C"c, result)
value = CByte(remainder)
' Get the 50s digit
result = Math.DivRem(value, 50, remainder)
If result = 1 Then returnString += "L"
value = CByte(remainder)
' Get the tens digit.
result = Math.DivRem(value, 10, remainder)
If result > 0 Then returnString += New String("X"c, result)
value = CByte(remainder)
' Get the fives digit.
result = Math.DivRem(value, 5, remainder)
If result > 0 Then returnString += "V"
value = CByte(remainder)
' Add the ones digit.
If remainder > 0 Then returnString += New String("I"c, remainder)
' Check whether we have too many X characters.
Dim pos As Integer = returnString.IndexOf("XXXX")
If pos >= 0 Then
Dim xPos As Integer = returnString.IndexOf("L")
If xPos >= 0 And xPos = pos - 1 Then
returnString = returnString.Replace("LXXXX", "XC")
Else
returnString = returnString.Replace("XXXX", "XL")
End If
End If
' Check whether we have too many I characters
pos = returnString.IndexOf("IIII")
If pos >= 0 Then
If returnString.IndexOf("V") >= 0 Then
returnString = returnString.Replace("VIIII", "IX")
Else
returnString = returnString.Replace("IIII", "IV")
End If
End If
Return returnString
End If
' Use default for all other formatting.
If obj Is GetType(IFormattable)
Return CType(obj, IFormattable).ToString(fmt, CultureInfo.CurrentCulture)
Else
Return obj.ToString()
End If
End Function
End Class
Module Example
Public Sub Main()
Dim n As Integer = 10
Dim value As Double = 16.935
Dim day As DateTime = Date.Now
Dim provider As New InterceptProvider()
Console.WriteLine(String.Format(provider, "{0:N0}: {1:C2} on {2:d}", n, value, day))
Console.WriteLine()
Console.WriteLine(String.Format(provider, "{0}: {1:F}", "Today",
CType(Date.Now.DayOfWeek, DayOfWeek)))
Console.WriteLine()
Console.WriteLine(String.Format(provider, "{0:X}, {1}, {2}\n",
CByte(2), CByte(12), CByte(199)))
Console.WriteLine()
Console.WriteLine(String.Format(provider, "{0:R}, {1:R}, {2:R}",
CByte(2), CByte(12), CByte(199)))
End Sub
End Module
' The example displays the following output:
' Provider: InterceptProvider, Object: 10, Format String: N0
' Provider: InterceptProvider, Object: 16.935, Format String: C2
' Provider: InterceptProvider, Object: 1/31/2013 6:10:28 PM, Format String: d
' 10: $16.94 on 1/31/2013
'
' Provider: InterceptProvider, Object: Today: , Format String: <null>
' Provider: InterceptProvider, Object: Thursday, Format String: F
' Today: : Thursday
'
' Provider: InterceptProvider, Object: 2, Format String: X
' Provider: InterceptProvider, Object: 12, Format String: <null>
' Provider: InterceptProvider, Object: 199, Format String: <null>
' 2, 12, 199
'
' Provider: InterceptProvider, Object: 2, Format String: R
' Provider: InterceptProvider, Object: 12, Format String: R
' Provider: InterceptProvider, Object: 199, Format String: R
' II, XII, CXCIX
FAQ
Why do you recommend string interpolation over calls to the String.Format method?
String interpolation is:
More flexible. It can be used in any string without requiring a call to a method that supports composite formatting. Otherwise, you have to call the Format method or another method that supports composite formatting, such as Console.WriteLine or StringBuilder.AppendFormat.
More readable. Because the expression to insert into a string appears in the interpolated expression rather than in a argument list, interpolated strings are far easier to code and to read. Because of their greater readability, interpolated strings can replace not only calls to composite format methods, but they can also be used in string concatenation operations to produce more concise, clearer code.
A comparison of the following two code examples illustrates the superiority of interpolated strings over string concatenation and calls to composite formatting methods. The use of multiple string concatenation operations in the following example produces verbose and hard-to-read code.
string[] names = { "Balto", "Vanya", "Dakota", "Samuel", "Koani", "Yiska", "Yuma" };
string output = names[0] + ", " + names[1] + ", " + names[2] + ", " +
names[3] + ", " + names[4] + ", " + names[5] + ", " +
names[6];
output += "\n";
var date = DateTime.Now;
output += String.Format("It is {0:t} on {0:d}. The day of the week is {1}.",
date, date.DayOfWeek);
Console.WriteLine(output);
// The example displays the following output:
// Balto, Vanya, Dakota, Samuel, Koani, Yiska, Yuma
// It is 10:29 AM on 1/8/2018. The day of the week is Monday.
open System
let names = [| "Balto"; "Vanya"; "Dakota"; "Samuel"; "Koani"; "Yiska"; "Yuma" |]
let output =
names[0] + ", " + names[1] + ", " + names[2] + ", " +
names[3] + ", " + names[4] + ", " + names[5] + ", " +
names[6] + "\n"
let date = DateTime.Now
output + String.Format("It is {0:t} on {0:d}. The day of the week is {1}.", date, date.DayOfWeek)
|> printfn "%s"
// The example displays the following output:
// Balto, Vanya, Dakota, Samuel, Koani, Yiska, Yuma
// It is 10:29 AM on 1/8/2018. The day of the week is Monday.
Module Example12
Public Sub Main()
Dim names = {"Balto", "Vanya", "Dakota", "Samuel", "Koani", "Yiska", "Yuma"}
Dim output = names(0) + ", " + names(1) + ", " + names(2) + ", " +
names(3) + ", " + names(4) + ", " + names(5) + ", " +
names(6)
output += vbCrLf
Dim dat = DateTime.Now
output += String.Format("It is {0:t} on {0:d}. The day of the week is {1}.",
dat, dat.DayOfWeek)
Console.WriteLine(output)
End Sub
End Module
' The example displays the following output:
' Balto, Vanya, Dakota, Samuel, Koani, Yiska, Yuma
' It is 10:29 AM on 1/8/2018. The day of the week is Monday.
In contrast, the use of interpolated strings in the following example produces much clearer, more concise code than the string concatenation statement and the call to the Format method in the previous example.
string[] names = { "Balto", "Vanya", "Dakota", "Samuel", "Koani", "Yiska", "Yuma" };
string output = $"{names[0]}, {names[1]}, {names[2]}, {names[3]}, {names[4]}, " +
$"{names[5]}, {names[6]}";
var date = DateTime.Now;
output += $"\nIt is {date:t} on {date:d}. The day of the week is {date.DayOfWeek}.";
Console.WriteLine(output);
// The example displays the following output:
// Balto, Vanya, Dakota, Samuel, Koani, Yiska, Yuma
// It is 10:29 AM on 1/8/2018. The day of the week is Monday.
open System
let names = [| "Balto"; "Vanya"; "Dakota"; "Samuel"; "Koani"; "Yiska"; "Yuma" |]
let output = $"{names[0]}, {names[1]}, {names[2]}, {names[3]}, {names[4]}, {names[5]}, {names[6]}"
let date = DateTime.Now
output + $"\nIt is {date:t} on {date:d}. The day of the week is {date.DayOfWeek}."
|> printfn "%s"
// The example displays the following output:
// Balto, Vanya, Dakota, Samuel, Koani, Yiska, Yuma
// It is 10:29 AM on 1/8/2018. The day of the week is Monday.
Module Example13
Public Sub Main()
Dim names = {"Balto", "Vanya", "Dakota", "Samuel", "Koani", "Yiska", "Yuma"}
Dim output = $"{names(0)}, {names(1)}, {names(2)}, {names(3)}, {names(4)}, " +
$"{names(5)}, {names(6)}"
Dim dat = DateTime.Now
output += $"{vbCrLf}It is {dat:t} on {dat:d}. The day of the week is {dat.DayOfWeek}."
Console.WriteLine(output)
End Sub
End Module
' The example displays the following output:
' Balto, Vanya, Dakota, Samuel, Koani, Yiska, Yuma
' It is 10:29 AM on 1/8/2018. The day of the week is Monday.
Where can I find the predefined format strings?
For all integral and floating-point types, see Standard Numeric Format Strings and Custom Numeric Format Strings.
For date and time values, see Standard Date and Time Format Strings and Custom Date and Time Format Strings.
For enumeration values, see Enumeration Format Strings.
For TimeSpan values, see Standard TimeSpan Format Strings and Custom TimeSpan Format Strings.
For Guid values, see the Remarks section of the Guid.ToString(String) reference page.
How do I control the alignment of the result strings that replace format items?
The general syntax of a format item is:
{index[,alignment][: formatString]}
where alignment is a signed integer that defines the field width. If this value is negative, text in the field is left-aligned. If it is positive, text is right-aligned.
How do I control the number of digits after the decimal separator?
All standard numeric format strings except "D" (which is used with integers only), "G", "R", and "X" allow a precision specifier that defines the number of decimal digits in the result string. The following example uses standard numeric format strings to control the number of decimal digits in the result string.
object[] values = { 1603, 1794.68235, 15436.14 };
string result;
foreach (var value in values)
{
result = String.Format("{0,12:C2} {0,12:E3} {0,12:F4} {0,12:N3} {1,12:P2}\n",
Convert.ToDouble(value), Convert.ToDouble(value) / 10000);
Console.WriteLine(result);
}
// The example displays output like the following:
// $1,603.00 1.603E+003 1603.0000 1,603.000 16.03 %
//
// $1,794.68 1.795E+003 1794.6824 1,794.682 17.95 %
//
// $15,436.14 1.544E+004 15436.1400 15,436.140 154.36 %
open System
let values: obj list = [ 1603, 1794.68235, 15436.14 ]
for value in values do
String.Format("{0,12:C2} {0,12:E3} {0,12:F4} {0,12:N3} {1,12:P2}\n", Convert.ToDouble(value), Convert.ToDouble(value) / 10000.)
|> printfn "%s"
// The example displays output like the following:
// $1,603.00 1.603E+003 1603.0000 1,603.000 16.03 %
//
// $1,794.68 1.795E+003 1794.6824 1,794.682 17.95 %
//
// $15,436.14 1.544E+004 15436.1400 15,436.140 154.36 %
Module Example7
Public Sub Main()
Dim values() As Object = {1603, 1794.68235, 15436.14}
Dim result As String
For Each value In values
result = String.Format("{0,12:C2} {0,12:E3} {0,12:F4} {0,12:N3} {1,12:P2}",
value, CDbl(value) / 10000)
Console.WriteLine(result)
Console.WriteLine()
Next
End Sub
End Module
' The example displays the following output:
' $1,603.00 1.603E+003 1603.0000 1,603.000 16.03 %
'
' $1,794.68 1.795E+003 1794.6824 1,794.682 17.95 %
'
' $15,436.14 1.544E+004 15436.1400 15,436.140 154.36 %
If you're using a custom numeric format string, use the "0" format specifier to control the number of decimal digits in the result string, as the following example shows.
decimal value = 16309.5436m;
string result = String.Format("{0,12:#.00000} {0,12:0,000.00} {0,12:000.00#}",
value);
Console.WriteLine(result);
// The example displays the following output:
// 16309.54360 16,309.54 16309.544
let value = 16309.5436m
String.Format("{0,12:#.00000} {0,12:0,000.00} {0,12:000.00#}", value)
|> printfn "%s"
// The example displays the following output:
// 16309.54360 16,309.54 16309.544
Module Example8
Public Sub Main()
Dim value As Decimal = 16309.5436D
Dim result As String = String.Format("{0,12:#.00000} {0,12:0,000.00} {0,12:000.00#}",
value)
Console.WriteLine(result)
End Sub
End Module
' The example displays the following output:
' 16309.54360 16,309.54 16309.544
How do I control the number of integral digits?
By default, formatting operations only display non-zero integral digits. If you are formatting integers, you can use a precision specifier with the "D" and "X" standard format strings to control the number of digits.
int value = 1326;
string result = String.Format("{0,10:D6} {0,10:X8}", value);
Console.WriteLine(result);
// The example displays the following output:
// 001326 0000052E
open System
let value = 1326
String.Format("{0,10:D6} {0,10:X8}", value)
|> printfn "%s"
// The example displays the following output:
// 001326 0000052E
Module Example10
Public Sub Main()
Dim value As Integer = 1326
Dim result As String = String.Format("{0,10:D6} {0,10:X8}", value)
Console.WriteLine(result)
End Sub
End Module
' The example displays the following output:
' 001326 0000052E
You can pad an integer or floating-point number with leading zeros to produce a result string with a specified number of integral digits by using the "0" custom numeric format specifier, as the following example shows.
int value = 16342;
string result = String.Format("{0,18:00000000} {0,18:00000000.000} {0,18:000,0000,000.0}",
value);
Console.WriteLine(result);
// The example displays the following output:
// 00016342 00016342.000 0,000,016,342.0
open System
let value = 16342
String.Format("{0,18:00000000} {0,18:00000000.000} {0,18:000,0000,000.0}", value)
|> printfn "%s"
// The example displays the following output:
// 00016342 00016342.000 0,000,016,342.0
Module Example9
Public Sub Main()
Dim value As Integer = 16342
Dim result As String = String.Format("{0,18:00000000} {0,18:00000000.000} {0,18:000,0000,000.0}",
value)
Console.WriteLine(result)
End Sub
End Module
' The example displays the following output:
' 00016342 00016342.000 0,000,016,342.0
How many items can I include in the format list?
There is no practical limit. The second parameter of the Format(IFormatProvider, String, Object[]) method is tagged with the ParamArrayAttribute attribute, which allows you to include either a delimited list or an object array as your format list.
How do I include literal braces ("{" and "}") in the result string?
For example, how do you prevent the following method call from throwing a FormatException exception?
result = String.Format("The text has {0} '{' characters and {1} '}' characters.",
nOpen, nClose);
let result =
String.Format("The text has {0} '{' characters and {1} '}' characters.", nOpen, nClose)
result = String.Format("The text has {0} '{' characters and {1} '}' characters.",
nOpen, nClose)
A single opening or closing brace is always interpreted as the beginning or end of a format item. To be interpreted literally, it must be escaped. You escape a brace by adding another brace ("{{" and "}}" instead of "{" and "}"), as in the following method call:
string result;
int nOpen = 1;
int nClose = 2;
result = String.Format("The text has {0} '{{' characters and {1} '}}' characters.",
nOpen, nClose);
Console.WriteLine(result);
let result =
String.Format("The text has {0} '{{' characters and {1} '}}' characters.", nOpen, nClose)
result = String.Format("The text has {0} '{{' characters and {1} '}}' characters.",
nOpen, nClose)
However, even escaped braces are easily misinterpreted. We recommend that you include braces in the format list and use format items to insert them in the result string, as the following example shows.
string result;
int nOpen = 1;
int nClose = 2;
result = String.Format("The text has {0} '{1}' characters and {2} '{3}' characters.",
nOpen, "{", nClose, "}");
Console.WriteLine(result);
let result =
String.Format("The text has {0} '{1}' characters and {2} '{3}' characters.", nOpen, "{", nClose, "}")
result = String.Format("The text has {0} '{1}' characters and {2} '{3}' characters.",
nOpen, "{", nClose, "}")
Why does my call to the String.Format method throw a FormatException?
The most common cause of the exception is that the index of a format item doesn't correspond to an object in the format list. Usually this indicates that you've misnumbered the indexes of format items or you've forgotten to include an object in the format list. Attempting to include an unescaped left or right brace character also throws a FormatException. Occasionally, the exception is the result of a typo; for example, a typical mistake is to mistype "[" (the left bracket) instead of "{" (the left brace).
If the Format(System.IFormatProvider,System.String,System.Object[]) method supports parameter arrays, why does my code throw an exception when I use an array?
For example, the following code throws a FormatException exception:
Random rnd = new Random();
int[] numbers = new int[4];
int total = 0;
for (int ctr = 0; ctr <= 2; ctr++)
{
int number = rnd.Next(1001);
numbers[ctr] = number;
total += number;
}
numbers[3] = total;
Console.WriteLine("{0} + {1} + {2} = {3}", numbers);
open System
let rnd = Random()
let mutable total = 0
let numbers = Array.zeroCreate<int> 4
for i = 0 to 2 do
let number = rnd.Next 1001
numbers[i] <- number
total <- total + number
numbers[3] <- total
Console.WriteLine("{0} + {1} + {2} = {3}", numbers)
Imports System.Collections.Generic
Module Example5
Public Sub Main()
Dim rnd As New Random()
Dim numbers(3) As Integer
Dim total As Integer = 0
For ctr = 0 To 2
Dim number As Integer = rnd.Next(1001)
numbers(ctr) = number
total += number
Next
numbers(3) = total
Console.WriteLine("{0} + {1} + {2} = {3}", numbers)
End Sub
End Module
This is a problem of compiler overload resolution. Because the compiler cannot convert an array of integers to an object array, it treats the integer array as a single argument, so it calls the Format(String, Object) method. The exception is thrown because there are four format items but only a single item in the format list.
Because neither Visual Basic nor C# can convert an integer array to an object array, you have to perform the conversion yourself before calling the Format(String, Object[]) method. The following example provides one implementation.
Random rnd = new Random();
int[] numbers = new int[4];
int total = 0;
for (int ctr = 0; ctr <= 2; ctr++)
{
int number = rnd.Next(1001);
numbers[ctr] = number;
total += number;
}
numbers[3] = total;
object[] values = new object[numbers.Length];
numbers.CopyTo(values, 0);
Console.WriteLine("{0} + {1} + {2} = {3}", values);
open System
let rnd = Random()
let numbers = Array.zeroCreate<int> 4
let mutable total = 0
for i = 0 to 2 do
let number = rnd.Next 1001
numbers[i] <- number
total <- total + number
numbers[3] <- total
let values = Array.zeroCreate<obj> numbers.Length
numbers.CopyTo(values, 0)
Console.WriteLine("{0} + {1} + {2} = {3}", values)
Imports System.Collections.Generic
Module Example6
Public Sub Main()
Dim rnd As New Random()
Dim numbers(3) As Integer
Dim total As Integer = 0
For ctr = 0 To 2
Dim number As Integer = rnd.Next(1001)
numbers(ctr) = number
total += number
Next
numbers(3) = total
Dim values(numbers.Length - 1) As Object
numbers.CopyTo(values, 0)
Console.WriteLine("{0} + {1} + {2} = {3}", values)
End Sub
End Module
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