UInt32.ToString Method (String, IFormatProvider)

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Updated: May 2010

Converts the numeric value of this instance to its equivalent string representation using the specified format and culture-specific format information.

Namespace:  System
Assembly:  mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)

Syntax

'Declaration
<SecuritySafeCriticalAttribute> _
Public Function ToString ( _
    format As String, _
    provider As IFormatProvider _
) As String
[SecuritySafeCriticalAttribute]
public string ToString(
    string format,
    IFormatProvider provider
)

Parameters

  • format
    Type: System.String
    A standard or custom numeric format string (see Remarks).
  • provider
    Type: System.IFormatProvider
    An object that supplies culture-specific formatting information about this instance.

Return Value

Type: System.String
The string representation of the value of this instance as specified by format and provider.

Implements

IFormattable.ToString(String, IFormatProvider)

Exceptions

Exception Condition
FormatException

The format parameter is invalid.

Remarks

The format parameter can be any valid standard numeric format specifier, or any combination of custom numeric format specifiers. If format is equal to String.Empty or is nulla null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic), the return value of the current UInt32 object is formatted with the general format specifier ("G"). If format is any other value, the method throws a FormatException.

The .NET Framework provides extensive formatting support, which is described in greater detail in the following formatting topics:

NoteNote:

Because the UInt32 data type is not supported on the Macintosh OS X operating system, the string representation of a UInt32 value may be different from those of the other .NET Framework numeric types that are supported by OS X.

The provider parameter is an IFormatProvider implementation. Its GetFormat method returns a NumberFormatInfo object that provides culture-specific information about the format of the string returned by this method. When the ToString(String, IFormatProvider) method is invoked, it calls the provider parameter's IFormatProvider.GetFormat method and passes it a Type object that represents the NumberFormatInfo type. The GetFormat method then returns the NumberFormatInfo object that provides information for formatting the current UInt32 value, such as the group separator symbol or the decimal point symbol. There are three ways to use the provider parameter to supply formatting information to the ToString(String, IFormatProvider) method:

  • You can pass a CultureInfo object that represents the culture that supplies formatting information. Its GetFormat method returns the NumberFormatInfo object that provides numeric formatting information for that culture.

  • You can pass the actual NumberFormatInfo object that provides numeric formatting information. (Its implementation of GetFormat just returns itself.)

  • You can pass a custom object that implements IFormatProvider. Its GetFormat method instantiates and returns the NumberFormatInfo object that provides formatting information.

If provider is nulla null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic), the formatting of the returned string is based on the NumberFormatInfo object of the current culture.

Examples

The following example displays a 32-bit unsigned integer value by using the standard numeric format specifiers and a number of specific CultureInfo objects.

Imports System.Globalization

Module Example
   Public Sub Demo(ByVal outputBlock As System.Windows.Controls.TextBlock)
      ' Define cultures whose formatting conventions are to be used.
      Dim cultures() As CultureInfo = {New CultureInfo("en-US"), _
                                       New CultureInfo("fr-FR"), _
                                       New CultureInfo("es-ES")}
      Dim specifiers() As String = {"G", "C", "D4", "E2", "F", "N", "P", "X2"}
      Dim value As UInteger = 2222402

      For Each specifier As String In specifiers
         For Each culture As CultureInfo In cultures
            outputBlock.Text += String.Format("{0,2} format using {1} culture: {2, 18}", _
                              specifier, culture.Name, _
                              value.ToString(specifier, culture)) & vbCrLf

         Next
         outputBlock.Text &= vbCrLf
      Next
   End Sub
End Module
' The example displays the following output:
'        G format using en-US culture:            2222402
'        G format using fr-FR culture:            2222402
'        G format using es-ES culture:            2222402
'       
'        C format using en-US culture:      $2,222,402.00
'        C format using fr-FR culture:     2 222 402,00 €
'        C format using es-ES culture:     2.222.402,00 €
'       
'       D4 format using en-US culture:            2222402
'       D4 format using fr-FR culture:            2222402
'       D4 format using es-ES culture:            2222402
'       
'       E2 format using en-US culture:          2.22E+006
'       E2 format using fr-FR culture:          2,22E+006
'       E2 format using es-ES culture:          2,22E+006
'       
'        F format using en-US culture:         2222402.00
'        F format using fr-FR culture:         2222402,00
'        F format using es-ES culture:         2222402,00
'       
'        N format using en-US culture:       2,222,402.00
'        N format using fr-FR culture:       2 222 402,00
'        N format using es-ES culture:       2.222.402,00
'       
'        P format using en-US culture:   222,240,200.00 %
'        P format using fr-FR culture:   222 240 200,00 %
'        P format using es-ES culture:   222.240.200,00 %
'       
'       X2 format using en-US culture:             21E942
'       X2 format using fr-FR culture:             21E942
'       X2 format using es-ES culture:             21E942
using System;
using System.Globalization;

public class Example
{
   public static void Demo(System.Windows.Controls.TextBlock outputBlock)
   {
      // Define cultures whose formatting conventions are to be used.
      CultureInfo[] cultures = { new CultureInfo("en-US"), 
                                 new CultureInfo("fr-FR"), 
                                 new CultureInfo("es-ES") };
      string[] specifiers = { "G", "C", "D4", "E2", "F", "N", "P", "X2" };
      uint value = 2222402;

      foreach (string specifier in specifiers)
      {
         foreach (CultureInfo culture in cultures)
            outputBlock.Text += String.Format("{0,2} format using {1} culture: {2, 18}",
                              specifier, culture.Name,
                              value.ToString(specifier, culture)) + "\n";
         outputBlock.Text += "\n";
      }
   }
}
// The example displays the following output:
//        G format using en-US culture:            2222402
//        G format using fr-FR culture:            2222402
//        G format using es-ES culture:            2222402
//       
//        C format using en-US culture:      $2,222,402.00
//        C format using fr-FR culture:     2 222 402,00 €
//        C format using es-ES culture:     2.222.402,00 €
//       
//       D4 format using en-US culture:            2222402
//       D4 format using fr-FR culture:            2222402
//       D4 format using es-ES culture:            2222402
//       
//       E2 format using en-US culture:          2.22E+006
//       E2 format using fr-FR culture:          2,22E+006
//       E2 format using es-ES culture:          2,22E+006
//       
//        F format using en-US culture:         2222402.00
//        F format using fr-FR culture:         2222402,00
//        F format using es-ES culture:         2222402,00
//       
//        N format using en-US culture:       2,222,402.00
//        N format using fr-FR culture:       2 222 402,00
//        N format using es-ES culture:       2.222.402,00
//       
//        P format using en-US culture:   222,240,200.00 %
//        P format using fr-FR culture:   222 240 200,00 %
//        P format using es-ES culture:   222.240.200,00 %
//       
//       X2 format using en-US culture:             21E942
//       X2 format using fr-FR culture:             21E942
//       X2 format using es-ES culture:             21E942

Version Information

Silverlight

Supported in: 5, 4, 3

Silverlight for Windows Phone

Supported in: Windows Phone OS 7.1, Windows Phone OS 7.0

XNA Framework

Supported in: Xbox 360, Windows Phone OS 7.0

Platforms

For a list of the operating systems and browsers that are supported by Silverlight, see Supported Operating Systems and Browsers.

Change History

Date

History

Reason

May 2010

Revised extensively.

Information enhancement.