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C#

Posted by richardking4
richardking4
2,997 Points

What's a format string?

At 7:27, Jeremy says:

"And we'll use a format string, so we'll type a $."

I don't recall this concept having been covered previously — what exactly is a format string?

1 Answer

Steven Parker
Steven Parker
231,271 Points
Steven Parker
Steven Parker
231,271 Points

You gave a time reference but didn't provide a link to the video page. But the basic idea is that interpolation will be performed on a string prefixed with a "$" symbol. This means that it will be scanned for embedded tokens made from variable names or expressions surrounded with braces, and the tokens will be replaced by string representations of the expression's value. For example:

var name = "Mike the frog";
var food = "flies";
Console.Write($"My name is {name} and I like to eat {food}.");

For more details, see this MSDN page on String interpolation in C#.

richardking4
richardking4
2,997 Points

Yeah I had assumed these forum posts automatically link to the corresponding video, seeing as each video lists forum posts related to it.

Thanks for clarifying the details! I'll check out that documentation.

richardking4
richardking4
2,997 Points

Oh, and here's an even better link that has an interactive exercise specifically designed for people who haven't performed string interpolation before:

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/csharp/tutorials/exploration/interpolated-strings

Steven Parker
Steven Parker
231,271 Points
Steven Parker
Steven Parker
231,271 Points

Forum posts should get a link automatically if you start them using the "Get Help" button on the course page.