Java The Complete Reference, Seventh Edition

536 Part II: The Java Library

fmt.format("|%-10.2f|", 123.123);

System.out.println(fmt);

}

}

It produces the following output:

| 123.12|

|123.12 |

As you can see, the second line is left-justified within a 10-character field.

The Space, +, 0, and ( Flags

To cause a+sign to be shown before positive numeric values, add the+flag. For example,

fmt.format("%+d", 100);

creates this string:

+100

When creating columns of numbers, it is sometimes useful to output a space before

positive values so that positive and negative values line up. To do this, add the space flag.

For example,

// Demonstrate the space format specifiers.

import java.util.*;

class FormatDemo5 {

public static void main(String args[]) {

Formatter fmt = new Formatter();

fmt.format("% d", -100);

System.out.println(fmt);

fmt = new Formatter();

fmt.format("% d", 100);

System.out.println(fmt);

fmt = new Formatter();

fmt.format("% d", -200);

System.out.println(fmt);

fmt = new Formatter();

fmt.format("% d", 200);

System.out.println(fmt);

}

}