C# float to string separator

Question

I am new to C # and I am currently having problems with the following. In C #, I have a Pi floating point number and I want to convert it to a string using the ToString() method. But the conversion gives a string result with a comma "3,1415". On another machine, the same gives the string result with the dot "3.1415". What is the reason for this and what should I do to get a dotted string result?

EDIT: The problem is, I can't change the code, but I can install and uninstall .Net frameworks, change my OS settings, etc.

Does this answer your question? [Converting double to string with N decimals, dot as decimal separator, and no thousand separator](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/4076789/converting-double-to-string-with-n-decimals-dot-as-decimal-separator-and-no-th) — GSerg, Jul 09 '21 at 13:17
Without seeing your code, it's actually a little hard to tell what's wrong. However, it's probably related with OS language/regional settings — Cid, Jul 09 '21 at 13:17
The reason for this is the CultureInfo associated to the language of the machine. To obtain the same result you could do `.ToString(CultureInfo.InvariantCulture);`. You can find more info here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/api/system.globalization.cultureinfo?view=net-5.0 — oRoiDev, Jul 09 '21 at 13:17
Pass the culture you want to `ToString`, eg `num.ToSting(CultureInfo.GetCultureInfo("en-US"))`, or `num.ToSting(CultureInfo.InvariantCulture)` — Panagiotis Kanavos, Jul 09 '21 at 13:21
**Why** do you want to use a dot? It matters. Clearly, in you country, the decimal separator is `,`, not `.`. .NET will use the current user's locale both for parsing and formatting. The users of the application will expect it to respect their locale. Their files will use the separators specified by their locale. If you want to export data as eg CSV, then you may want to specify the locale explicitly through `CultureInfo` — Panagiotis Kanavos, Jul 09 '21 at 13:26
`The problem is, I can't change the code,...` that's not the problem. You still haven't described what the problem is. If anything it looks like the code works as it should — Panagiotis Kanavos, Jul 09 '21 at 13:27
@VahagChakhoyan but what is the problem??? You still haven't described any problem to solve — Panagiotis Kanavos, Jul 09 '21 at 13:30
What can I do to get the result as a dotted string without changing the code? — Vahag Chakhoyan, Jul 09 '21 at 13:33
[**Why**](https://meta.stackexchange.com/q/66377/147640) do you want to get that result @VahagChakhoyan? On *your machine only*, without changing the code, you can go the Windows regional settings and change the decimal separator there. But why? — GSerg, Jul 09 '21 at 13:35
Why do you assume you need that in the first place? Why do you assume you should display numbers in any format other than the one selected by the end user? That's a **bug** not a feature. If you display `1.000` what would people in your country read? One or a Thousand? — Panagiotis Kanavos, Jul 09 '21 at 13:35
Do you have a desktop or web application? Do you care about display or do you want to export data in a specific format? If it's just for display in a desktop application, there's nothing to change. The application is already displaying numbers in the format requested by the user. — Panagiotis Kanavos, Jul 09 '21 at 13:37
Everyone except developers in your country will expect commas. It's only us developers that change the locale to US because we don't like the OS translations. The application sounds to be working just fine. It's only that other machine that has a US locale. — Panagiotis Kanavos, Jul 09 '21 at 13:39

DrkDeveloper · Answer 1 · 2021-07-09T14:01:33.597

-1

Edit: if you can't change the code. Change the language/localization of the system to one which uses dot as decimal separator. In Control Panel or Settings.

You should look at internationalization and localization in the System.Globalization namespace.

The advice here is to use one CultureInfo specific for parsing numbers or writing numbers to string.

var flt = 232.23f;

var str = flt.ToString(CultureInfo.InvariantCulture); //for example, you can use CultureInfo.CurrentCulture

This allows you to keep the ThreadCulture without change it.

But take a look at this link https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/api/system.globalization.cultureinfo?view=net-5.0 .Take your time, is dense.

edited Jul 09 '21 at 14:01

answered Jul 09 '21 at 13:21

DrkDeveloper

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`Usually` not. More than half the world uses `,` as the decimal separator. China is the biggest country that uses `.`. The *best choice* is to do nothing and use the *end user's locale* for both parsing and formatting – Panagiotis Kanavos Jul 09 '21 at 13:22
@PanagiotisKanavos edited. In addition, My country use comma (Spain) – DrkDeveloper Jul 09 '21 at 13:27
I edited the question. I cannot change the code. – Vahag Chakhoyan Jul 09 '21 at 13:27
Change the windows language/culture in panel control or settings>language and keyboard – DrkDeveloper Jul 09 '21 at 13:28
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@VahagChakhoyan but what is the actual problem? The code looks to be behaving just fine. Numbers in the US and UK are displayed differently. *Your users* expect the application to display numbers and *dates* in their locale's format. – Panagiotis Kanavos Jul 09 '21 at 13:28
@PanagiotisKanavos I agree with you. The question only had sense if you should/can change the code. – DrkDeveloper Jul 09 '21 at 13:30
@DrkDeveloper I'm not sure the code needs changing. This looks more like a misunderstanding of localization – Panagiotis Kanavos Jul 09 '21 at 13:31
What can I do to get the result as a dotted string without changing the code? – Vahag Chakhoyan Jul 09 '21 at 13:34
@VahagChakhoyan I told you, change your pc language to a zone where they use dot as a decimal separator – DrkDeveloper Jul 09 '21 at 13:59
That's why even Java developer (like me) hate c# ... – F___ThisToxicCommunityHere Oct 17 '22 at 13:16

score -2 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 09 '21 at 13:18

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I would just set the current culture at the entry point of your program.

Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture = CultureInfo.CreateSpecificCulture("en-GB");

However I would also check the regional settings and so forth on the machine where the comma separator appears.

answered Jul 09 '21 at 13:18

Alan B

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I edited the question. I cannot change the code. – Vahag Chakhoyan Jul 09 '21 at 13:28

score -2 · Answer 3 · answered Jul 09 '21 at 13:23

-2

It is related with current culture info. You can specify the culture info in ToString method as a parameter like;

var convertedFloat = floatVariable.ToString(new CultureInfo("en-GB"));

answered Jul 09 '21 at 13:23

Ahmet Selman Şener

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I edited the question. I cannot change the code. – Vahag Chakhoyan Jul 09 '21 at 13:27

score -2 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 09 '21 at 15:14

Thanks to GSerg, for comment about Windows regional settings. That solves my problem. In the Windows Control panel enter Region and Language. In the Formats tab click Additional Settings and in the Decimal symbol field specify what decimal separator must be used when converting a floating point number to a string.

C# float to string separator

4 Answers4