Im new to C# programming. Can someone please explain the following code:
Console.WriteLine( "{0}{1,10}", "Face", "Frequency" ); //Headings
Console.WriteLine( "{0,4}{1,10}",someval,anotherval);
I understand that this prints two columns of values with the headings given, and {0} refers to the first argument given. But what is the meaning of the format strings of the form {x,y} ?
It adds padding to the left. Very useful for remembering the various string formatting patterns is the following cheat sheet:
.NET String.Format Cheat Sheet
Positive values add padding to the left, negative add padding to the right
Sample Generates
String.Format("[{0, 10}]", "Foo"); [∙∙∙∙∙∙∙Foo]
String.Format("[{0, 5}]", "Foo"); [∙∙Foo]
String.Format("[{0, -5}]", "Foo"); [Foo∙∙]
String.Format("[{0, -10}]", "Foo"); [Foo∙∙∙∙∙∙∙]
When you see {x,y}, x represents the argument's index and y the alignment, as specified here. The complete syntax is the following:
{index[,alignment][:formatString]}
This is a padding value...if the argument isn't the length that is specified, it puts spaces in.
E.g. if you had {0,10} and the argument for {0} was "Blah", the actual value printed would be "Blah<SPACE><SPACE><SPACE><SPACE><SPACE><SPACE>"...Blah, with 6 extra spaces to make up a string of 10 length
ps - not sure how to put actual spaces in...need to look up SO faq no doubt
