Number Formatting is used by <<FlatFile>> parser and composer and Integer, Float and String objects (e.g. parseFloatExpression(), printFloatExpression(), parseIntegerExpression(), printIntegerExpression()).

The format processor uses similar patterns as Oracle and PostgreSQL but is not 100% compatible e.g. there's no support for scientific and roman notation.
All parse and compose functionality is influenced by locales. The <<FlatFile>> adapter and the parse and print number operations take a parameter of type Basic Components::Basic Behavior::NumbersLocale. This parameter can be used to define

Class	Attribute	Type	Description
NumbersLocale	negativeSign	String	Characters used to signify negative values. Usually '`-`'.
	positiveSign	String	Characters used to signify positive values. Usually '`+`'.
	thousandsSeparator	String	Characters used to separate units of thousand, e.g. '`,`'.
	decimalPoint	String	e.g. '`.`'
	currencySymbol	String	e.g. '`$`'

Default values are given by the system locales.

To specify a number format, the attribute must have stereotype <<FlatFileAttribute>>.

Figure: Specifying a Format Tagged Value on a Class Attribute

BRIDGE > Number Formatting > class_attribute_number_format.png

Locale characters are by default the system locales. These can be overridden by providing a Locale structure as input parameter to flatfile parser/composer or script function.

Patterns

This table shows the template patterns available for formatting numeric values.

Pattern	Description
9	Value with the specified number of digits.
0	Value with leading zeros.
. (period)	Decimal point.
, (comma)	Group (thousand) separator.
PR	Negative value in angle brackets.
S	Sign anchored to number (uses locale).
L	Currency symbol (uses locale).
D	Decimal point (uses locale).
G	Group separator (uses locale).
MI	Minus sign in specified position (if number < 0).
PL	Plus sign in specified position (if number > 0).
SG	Plus/minus sign in specified position.
TH or th	Ordinal number suffix.
V	Shift specified number of digits (see notes).
FM	Fill mode prefix, will discard any leading spaces.

Usage Notes

A sign formatted using SG, PL, or MI is not anchored to the number; for example, to_char(-12, 'S9999') produces ' -12', but to_char(-12, 'MI9999') produces '- 12'.
9 results in a value with the same number of digits as there are 9s. If a digit is not available it outputs a space.
TH does not convert values less than zero and does not convert fractional numbers.
V effectively multiplies the input values by 10^n, where n is the number of digits following V. to_char() does not support the use of V combined with a decimal point. (E.g., 99.9V99 is not allowed.)
Locale characters are by default the system locales. These can be overriden by providing a Locale structure as input parameter to flatfile parser/composer or script function.

Examples

You can test your own format expression with the above mentioned example.

The following locale is used:

Negative sign "-"
Positive sign "+"
Thousands separator " "
Decimal point ","
Currency symbol "$"

Number	Format	Output String	Description
`-0.1`	`'FM9.99'`	`'-.1'`
`485`	`'FM999MI'`	`'485'`
`148.5`	`'FM999.990'`	`'148.500'`
`148.5`	`'FM999.999'`	`'148.5'`
`12`	`'FM9990999.9'`	`'0012.'`
`0.0`	`'FM999999999999.000'`	`'.000'`
`0.0`	`'FM999999999990.000'`	`'0.000'`
`0.0`	`'FM999999999990.099'`	`'0.0'`
`0.0`	`'FM999999999990.999'`	`'0.'`
`123.12`	`'99.99'`	`' ##.##'`	Parsing not possible.
`0.1`	`'0.9'`	`' 0.1'`
`-0.1`	`'99.99'`	`' -.10'`	no leading zeros (`9`), minus sign sticks to first number
`12`	`'9990999.9'`	`' 0012.0'`
`485`	`'999'`	`' 485'`	leading blank comes from the plus sign, that is not displayed
`-485`	`'999'`	`'-485'`
`485`	`'9 9 9'`	`' 4 8 5'`
`1485`	`'9,999'`	`' 1,485'`	hard coded group separator
`1485`	`'9G999'`	`' 1 485'`	group separator from locale
`148.5`	`'999.999'`	`' 148.500'`	hard coded decimal point
`148.5`	`'999D999'`	`' 148,500'`	decimal point from locale
`3148.5`	`'9G999D999'`	`' 3 148,500'`	group separator and decimal point from locale
`12`	`'99V999'`	`' 12000'`	value increased by factor 1000, because 3 digit are following the specification of `V`
`12.4`	`'99V999'`	`' 12400'`	value increased by factor 1000, because 3 digit are following the specification of `V`
`12.45`	`'99V9'`	`' 124'`	value increased by factor 10, because 1 digit is following the specification of `V`, last decimal is omitted because no decimals are defined in format
`-485`	`'999S'`	`'485-'`	displaying the sign from locale in rear of the number
`-485`	`'999MI'`	`'485-'`	displaying a minus sign in rear of the number, if number is negative
`485`	`'999MI'`	`'485 '`	no minus sign added if number is positive, but empty space instead
`485`	`'PL999'`	`'+ 485'`	adding a plus sign in front of number if number is positive (`PL`), no trimming of leading spaces (empty sign in this case)
`-485`	`'PL999'`	`' -485'`	adding no plus sign in front of number because number is not positive (PL), negative system sign, no trimming of leading spaces
`485`	`'999PL'`	`' 485+'`	displaying a plus sign in rear of the number, if number is positive (`PL`), no trimming of leading spaces (empty sign in this case)
`-485`	`'999PL'`	`'-485 '`	displaying a plus sign in rear of the number, if number is positive (`PL`), no trimming of trailing spaces (empty sign in this case, because number is not positive)
`485`	`'SG999'`	`'+485'`
`-485`	`'SG999'`	`'-485'`
`-485`	`'9SG99'`	`'4-85'`
`-485`	`'999PR'`	`'<485>'`
`485`	`'L999'`	`'$ 485'`	displaying the currency symbol in front of the number (`L`), no trimming of leading spaces (empty sign in this case)
`0`	`'999th'`	`' 0th'`
`1`	`'999th'`	`' 1st'`
`482`	`'999th'`	`' 482nd'`
`485`	`'"Good number:"999'`	`'Good number: 485'`
`485.8`	`'"Pre:"999" Post:" .999'`	`'Pre: 485 Post: .800'`