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29.14 java.text.NumberFormat (JDK 1.1)

This class formats and parses numbers in a locale-specific way. As an abstract class, it cannot be instantiated directly, but it provides a number of static methods that return instances of a concrete subclass which you can use for formatting. The getInstance() method returns a NumberFormat object suitable for normal formatting of numbers in either the default locale or in a specified locale. getCurrencyInstance() and getPercentInstance() return NumberFormat objects for formatting numbers that represent monetary amounts and percentages in either the default locale or in a specified locale. getAvailableLocales() returns an array of locales for which NumberFormat objects are available.

Once you have created a suitable NumberFormat object, you may customize its locale-independent behavior with setMaximumFractionDigits(), setGroupingUsed() and similar set methods. In order to customize the locale-dependent behavior, you can use instanceof to test if the NumberFormat object is an instance of DecimalFormat, and if so, cast it to that type. The DecimalFormat class provides complete control over number formatting. Note, however, that a NumberFormat customized in this way may no longer be appropriate for the desired locale.

After creating and customizing a NumberFormat object, you can use the various format() methods to convert numbers to strings or string buffers, and you can use the parse() or parseObject() methods to convert strings to numbers.

The constants defined by this class are intended to be used by the FieldPosition object.

The NumberFormat class in not intended for the display of very large or very small numbers that require exponential notation, and it may not gracefully handle infinite or NaN (not-a-number) values.

public abstract class NumberFormat extends Format implements Cloneable {
    // Default Constructor: public NumberFormat()
    // Constants
            public static final int FRACTION_FIELD;
            public static final int INTEGER_FIELD;
    // Class Methods
            public static Locale[] getAvailableLocales();
            public static final NumberFormat getCurrencyInstance();
            public static NumberFormat getCurrencyInstance(Locale inLocale);
            public static final NumberFormat getInstance();
            public static NumberFormat getInstance(Locale inLocale);
            public static final NumberFormat getNumberInstance();
            public static NumberFormat getNumberInstance(Locale inLocale);
            public static final NumberFormat getPercentInstance();
            public static NumberFormat getPercentInstance(Locale inLocale);
    // Public Instance Methods
            public Object clone();  // Overrides Format
            public boolean equals(Object obj);  // Overrides Object
            public final StringBuffer format(Object number, StringBuffer toAppendTo, FieldPosition pos);  // Defines Format
            public final String format(double number);
            public final String format(long number);
            public abstract StringBuffer format(double number, StringBuffer toAppendTo, FieldPosition pos);
            public abstract StringBuffer format(long number, StringBuffer toAppendTo, FieldPosition pos);
            public int getMaximumFractionDigits();
            public int getMaximumIntegerDigits();
            public int getMinimumFractionDigits();
            public int getMinimumIntegerDigits();
            public int hashCode();  // Overrides Object
            public boolean isGroupingUsed();
            public boolean isParseIntegerOnly();
            public abstract Number parse(String text, ParsePosition parsePosition);
            public Number parse(String text) throws ParseException;
            public final Object parseObject(String source, ParsePosition parsePosition);  // Defines Format
            public void setGroupingUsed(boolean newValue);
            public void setMaximumFractionDigits(int newValue);
            public void setMaximumIntegerDigits(int newValue);
            public void setMinimumFractionDigits(int newValue);
            public void setMinimumIntegerDigits(int newValue);
            public void setParseIntegerOnly(boolean value);
}

Hierarchy:

Object->Format(Serializable, Cloneable)->NumberFormat(Cloneable)

Extended By:

ChoiceFormat, DecimalFormat

Passed To:

DateFormat.setNumberFormat()

Returned By:

DateFormat.getNumberFormat(), NumberFormat.getCurrencyInstance(), NumberFormat.getInstance(), NumberFormat.getNumberInstance(), NumberFormat.getPercentInstance()

Type Of:

DateFormat.numberFormat


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