FORMAT

The FORMAT function formats integer values into a string.

The format strings used by FORMAT may also be used in XJRunner when formatting dates and times in the filenames and headers of log files.

FORMAT( INT value, STRING formatString )

Format Strings

The formatString is a pattern that specifies how the integer is to be formatted. A format starts with a '%' and then any characters up to the first alphabetic character. Any other characters in the string are printed verbatim. If more than one format is specified in the string then the integer will be reinterpreted - this is mainly useful for printing date and time strings, and allows you to print more than one date or time component at once.

A literal percent sign may be printed by using two percent signs.

When used to assign formatted integers to string variables the FORMAT function can act as a reciprocal function to STRTOINT

The format is of the form:

% {flags} {width} type

Flags is a combination of '-', '#' and '0'.
Width is a numeric value specifying a minimum width to make the value printed; values may be padded with zeroes or spaces depending on the flags specified. If the formatted value is wider than the width specified it is not truncated.
Type is a character which specifies how to interpret the value:

The following type values interpret the value as a normal integer:

The flags have the following effects in these cases:

If a width is specified along with the '#' flag, any padding characters (either spaces or zeroes) are inserted between the prefix and the number. The width does not include the width of any prefix.

Dates and Times

Dates and times are represented in XJEase as an integer value. Such values are typically obtained from the NOW function. Date and times are always converted to local time before formatting (the underlying storage is in UTC).

The following type values interpret the value as a date/time value:

The only flag supported for date formats is '#', which will suppress any padding with zeroes for the following formats: 'y', 'Y', 'd', 'h', 'H', 'M' and 'S'.

Finally, the following formats are simple shortcuts to display either the date or the time using the formats defined for the current user's locale. The actual format used will depend on how the user has configured Windows.

Example

INT x := 42;
INT datetime := NOW();
STRING binaryFormat;

PRINT("Decimal: ", FORMAT(x, "%i\n"));
PRINT("Hex:     ", FORMAT(x, "%#02x\n"));
binaryFormat := FORMAT(x, "%08b\n");
PRINT("Binary:  ", binaryFormat);

PRINT("datetime:      ", datetime, "\n");
PRINT("Long date:     ", FORMAT(datetime, "%{Long Date}\n"));
PRINT("Date and time: ", FORMAT(datetime, "%{Short Date} %{Time}\n"));
PRINT("Custom:        ", FORMAT(datetime, "%a, %#d %N %Y - %H:%M\n"));

The output will be:

Decimal: 42
Hex:     0x2a
Binary:  00101010
datetime:      12738695549839
Long date:     03 September 2004
Date and time: 03/09/2004 14:32:29
Custom:        Fri, 3 September 2004 - 14:32