The composite formatting feature in the .NET Framework makes it easy to left-align or right-align a value in a fixed-width field. If the alignment component of a format item in a composite format string is negative, its corresponding argument is left-aligned. If the alignment component is positive, its corresponding argument is right-aligned. For instance, the following example assigns random numbers to an eleven-element array and displays their values. In the output, the array index is left-aligned in a five-character field, and the array value is right-aligned in a twelve-character field.
[Visual Basic]
Dim rnd As New Random()
Dim values(10) As Double
Console.WriteLine("{0,-5}{1,12}", "Index", "Value")
For ctr As Integer = values.GetLowerBound(0) To values.GetUpperBound(0)
values(ctr) = rnd.NextDouble()
Console.WriteLine(" {0,-5} {1,12:F6}", ctr, values(ctr))
Next
[C#]
Random rnd = new Random();
double[] values = new double[11];
Console.WriteLine("{0,-5}{1,12}", "Index", "Value");
for (int ctr = values.GetLowerBound(0); ctr <= values.GetUpperBound(0); ctr++)
{
values[ctr] = rnd.NextDouble();
Console.WriteLine(" {0,-5} {1,12:F6}", ctr, values[ctr]);
}
The example produces output similar to the following:
Index Value
0 0.682236
1 0.827866
2 0.927542
3 0.670535
4 0.023612
5 0.353050
6 0.685052
Read more: BCL Team Blog