May 8, 2000 - Date, Number, and Array Formatting

Yehuda Shiran May 8, 2000
Date, Number, and Array Formatting
Tips: May 2000

Yehuda Shiran, Ph.D.
Doc JavaScript

Internet Explorer 5.5 updated the toLocaleString() method for the objects Date, Number, and Array so they all retrieve formatting information from the user's Control Panel settings. The Date printout is determined by the Date tab of the Control Panel's Regional Settings:

and by the Time tab:

If we define x, for example, as:

x = new Date();

then the command alert(x.toLocaleString()) will look like:

Sunday, 05 March, 2000 12:05:43 AM

Notice how the format is as specified in the Region Settings above.

When printing a number, the format is determined by the Number tab:

Assume that:

x = 1234.56789

Then the simple printout alert(x.toLocaleString()) yields the following string:

1,234.57

Notice how the settings in the Number tab above are reflected in the printout. The specification of the number of digits after the decimal place (2) is a good example.

Let's see now how arrays are printed out. Suppose we have the following JavaScript statement that defines an array:

x= new Array("a", "b", "c");

The statement alert(x.toLocaleString()) generates the following string:

a, b, c

Notice how the elements are separated by commas, as specified in the Number tab above. Let's change the separator character to a $ sign. The alert box will look like this:

a$ b$ c

Read more about IE 5.5 in Column 59, IE 5.5: Formatting, URIs, and Stack Operations.