Bug? Bug in NumberFormat2?

[Computersmith64]

Not sure if this is a bug or not, but here's what I found:

I have a sub that loads a record from a database. The sub is pretty standard & has a query to get the record I'm looking for & then loads the various fields into views. In the process of doing this, it formats a couple of numbers (an appttime field into a ##:## format & a cost field into a #.## format). The first formatting looks like this:

txtApptTime.Text = $"$2{DateTime.GetHour(mRec.get("appttime"))}:$2{DateTime.GetMinute(mRec.get("appttime"))}"$

& the second formatting looks like this:

txtCost.Text = NumberFormat2(mRec.Get("cost"), 1, 2, 2, False)

(Don't ask me why I use 2 different ways of formatting - I just do)

After the activity loads & the first time I call this sub to load a record, it all works fine. Eg: if the time being formatted is 11:45AM, then it will be shown as "11:45". However, the second & subsequent times I call this sub, the time will be shown as "11.00:45.00". If I comment out the second formatting line (the one that uses NumberFormat2) then it all works fine. Also, if I change the first formatting line to:

txtApptTime.Text = NumberFormat(DateTime.GetHour(mRec.get("appttime")), 2, 0) & ":" & NumberFormat(DateTime.GetMinute(mRec.get("appttime")), 2, 0)

then it all works fine as well.

It seems that the NumberFormat2 is somehow creating some persistent format that is overriding the $"$2... "$ formatting I am trying to use. It's easy enough to work around by just using NumberFormat instead of the way I initially did it, but still seems odd to me.

- Colin.

 

[LucaMs]

It seems that the NumberFormat2 is somehow creating some persistent format that is overriding the $"$2... "$ formatting I am trying to use

It seems that the problem is in the first statement (time) not in the second (Cost).
Try to use the old style method instead of smart string, PLEASE

 

[Computersmith64]

It seems that the problem is in the first statement (time) not in the second (Cost).
Try to use the old style method instead of smart string, PLEASE

Hi Luca - I don't think that it is the smart formatting that's the issue. If I comment out the NumberFormat2 line, then the smart formatting works fine. Also, I was using the smart formatting without any issues for a long time before I added the Cost field & the NumberFormat2 formatting for it.

I use smart formatting in other apps without any issues too.

- Colin.

 

[LucaMs]

A little test?

 

[LucaMs]

Attached

 

[Computersmith64]

Attached

OK - so what's your interpretation of the result of that test?

 

[LucaMs]

That the problem is in the smart string, of course

[EDIT: not in your smart string, some bug in b4a smart string]

 

[Computersmith64]

That the problem is in the smart string, of course

Run it again - except this time uncomment the smart formatting statement for the time & comment the one below it. Tap the Test button twice & you'll see that the smart formatting gets screwed up the second time. Now comment out the NumberFormat2 line & run it again. Tap the Test button as many times as you want & you'll see that the smart formatting is correct every time.

This tells me that the NumberFormat2 statement is doing something that is affecting the smart formatting.

- Colin.

 

[Erel]

The correct code is:

Log($"$2.0{iHour}:$2.0{iMinute}"$)

Your code doesn't put any limit on the maximum number of fractions.
See the number formatter section: https://www.b4x.com/android/forum/threads/b4x-smart-string-literal.50135/#content

The inconsistency is indeed strange here. However the correct way to fix it is by explicitly setting the format.

 

[Computersmith64]

The correct code is:

Log($"$2.0{iHour}:$2.0{iMinute}"$)

Your code doesn't put any limit on the maximum number of fractions.
See the number formatter section: https://www.b4x.com/android/forum/threads/b4x-smart-string-literal.50135/#content

The inconsistency is indeed strange here. However the correct way to fix it is by explicitly setting the format.

Thanks Erel - it's weird that it's only a problem after a call to NumberFormat2. In code where I've never made that call, I don't have an issue with the way I've written the format - but I'll make sure I follow the format above in future. Having said that, I find it strange that you need to specify fractions on an integer. I could understand it if the number being formatted was a double or float, but given that it's a whole number I would have expected it to just return a 2 digit format of it.

- Colin.