Ouput file in Fixed Width format? 1

[damann]

Hey guys,

I am working on a .NET app that needs to output a file in fixed width format (basically every field/column in the file has a "fixed" length/width). Usually my console apps output in comma delimeted format which is easy to string/concat together. But I'm a little stumped on how to accomplish this. Please shed some light on any ideas you may have.

Thanks,
Damann

 

[obislavu]

Use string.Format() function to format each field/column in the length you want.
For the char columns use PadLeft() or PadRight() method to pad the output to the desired length:
MyString.PadRight(25,' '); // MyString will be padded up to 25 with spaces
For integer and double fields:

double price= 1200.39;
int    id=1908;
string sPrice = string.Format("{0:000000000.00}",price); // double with 9 digits and two decimals
string sId = string.Format("{0:00000000}",id); // integer with 8 digits
// Will output: 000001200.39
//              00001908

For date & time use also string.Format()and the format you want:

DateTime dt = DateTime.Now;
string sDT = dt.ToString("yyyy-MM-dd-hh: mm:ss",System.Globalization.DateTimeFormatInfo.InvariantInfo);

There are many specifier types for Date&Time.
Note that the format is dependent on the regional settings.
obislavu

 

[damann]

Great! Thanks for the valuable post!


Thanks,
Damann