Right Align String NumberFormat in Java

Question

I need to right align an input string of digits with a mask using plus symbols.

For example:

    String input = "893";
    String mask = "&&&&&&";

should return

    String output = "+++893";

I'm very confused on how to implement this with NumberFormat and or DecimalFormat as I haven't used them before. Any help would be appreciated.

What if the mask is shorter than the input? Do you truncate or ignore? — CodeMonkey, Feb 18 '14 at 21:10

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Feb 18 '14 at 22:54

If you need to use DeciamlFormat you could use:

int input = 893;
DecimalFormat decFormat = new DecimalFormat("000000"); //as many palces as you need
String output = decFormat.format(input);

And then replace all leading zeros with + sign.

String.format("%06d", input); //also gives you leading zeros

You still have to check if the output is too long, if you always want 6 places.

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Feb 18 '14 at 21:14

0

You could try this: If the length of the mask is greater than the length of the input, take the difference and add that many plus signs to the front of the input.

answered Feb 18 '14 at 21:14

CodeMonkey

1,795
3
16
46

Although I don't get the point of the mask then. You could simply have a desired length – CodeMonkey Feb 18 '14 at 21:16
Yeah that was my first idea but I just wanted to ask if there was a more elegant way using NumberFormat. – user1378762 Feb 18 '14 at 21:17
the mask will also be part of the input. – user1378762 Feb 18 '14 at 21:20

Right Align String NumberFormat in Java

2 Answers2