Documentation: Document string formatting format

Author: https://github.com/AtkinsSJ Commit: https://github.com/SerenityOS/serenity/commit/e8c71605b9e Pull-request: https://github.com/SerenityOS/serenity/pull/11615 Reviewed-by: https://github.com/alimpfard Reviewed-by: https://github.com/trflynn89
2024-11-21 23:20:20 +00:00 · 2022-01-04 15:34:53 +00:00 · 2022-01-04 15:34:53 +00:00 · e8c71605b9 · 2024-07-17 21:26:16 +09:00
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+# String Formatting
+
+Many places in Serenity allow you to format strings, similar to `printf()`, for example `String::formatted()`
+, `StringBuilder::appendff()`, or `dbgln()`. These are checked at compile time to ensure the format string matches the
+number of parameters. The syntax is largely based on
+the [C++ `std::formatter` syntax](https://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/utility/format/formatter#Standard_format_specification)
+but there are some differences.
+
+For basic usage, any occurrences of `{}` in the format string are replaced with the other arguments, converted to string
+form, in order:
+
+```c++
+String::formatted("Well, {} my {} friends!", "hello", 42) == "Well, hello my 42 friends!";
+```
+
+If you want to include a literal `{` in the output, use `{{`:
+
+```c++
+String::formatted("{{ {}", "hello") == "{ hello";
+```
+
+You can refer to the arguments by index, if you want to repeat one or change the order:
+
+```c++
+String::formatted("{2}{0}{1}", "a", "b", "c") == "cab";
+```
+
+To control how the arguments are formatted, add colon after the optional index, and then add format specifier
+characters:
+
+```c++
+String::formatted("{:.4}", "cool dude") == "cool";
+String::formatted("{0:.4}", "cool dude") == "cool";
+```
+
+## Format specifiers
+
+In order, the format can contain:
+
+- Fill character and alignment
+- Sign
+- `#` Hash
+- `0` Zero
+- Width
+- Precision
+- Type specifier
+
+Each of these is optional. You can include any combination of them, but they must be in this order.
+
+### Fill and alignment
+
+This is an optional fill character, followed by an alignment. The fill character can be anything apart from `{` or `}`,
+and is used to fill any space left when the input has fewer characters than the format requests. By default, it is a
+space. (` `)
+
+The alignment characters are:
+
+- `<`: Align left.
+- `>`: Align right.
+- `^`: Align centered.
+
+### Sign
+
+- `+`: Always display a sign before the number.
+- `-`: Display a sign for negative numbers only.
+- (space): Display a sign for negative numbers, and a leading space for other numbers.
+
+### Hash
+
+`#` causes an "alternate form" to be used.
+
+For integer types, this adds the number-base prefix after the sign:
+
+- `0b` for binary.
+- `0` for octal.
+- `0x` for hexadecimal.
+
+### Zero
+
+`0` pads the number with leading zeros.
+
+### Width and Precision
+
+The width defines the minimum number of characters in the output. The precision is a `.` followed by a precision number,
+which is used as the precision of floating-point numbers, or a maximum-width for string values.
+
+Both the width and precision can be provided as a replacement field (`{}`, optionally including an argument index) which
+allows you to use an integer argument instead of a hard-coded number.
+
+### Type specifiers
+
+| Type      | Effect                | Example output           |
+|-----------|-----------------------|--------------------------|
+| *nothing* | default format        | Anything! :^)            |
+| b         | binary                | `110`, `0b000110`        |
+| B         | binary uppercase      | `110`, `0B000110`        |
+| d         | decimal               | `42`, `+0000042`         |
+| o         | octal                 | `043`                    |
+| x         | hexadecimal           | `ff0`, `0x00000ff0`      |
+| X         | hexadecimal uppercase | `FF0`, `0X00000FF0`      |
+| c         | character             | `a`                      |
+| s         | string                | `well, hello friends!`   |
+| p         | pointer               | `0xdeadc0de`             |
+| f         | float                 | `1.234`, `-inf`          |
+| a         | hex float             |                          |
+| A         | hex float uppercase   |                          |
+| hex-dump  | hexadecimal dump      | `fdfdfdfd`, `3030    00` |
+
+Not all type specifiers are compatible with all input types, of course.
+
+## Formatting custom types
+
+You can provide a custom `AK::Formatter<Foo>` class to format `Foo` values. For the simplest case where you already have
+a function that produces a string from your type, that would look like this:
+
+```c++
+template<>
+struct AK::Formatter<Web::CSS::Selector> : Formatter<StringView> {
+    ErrorOr<void> format(FormatBuilder& builder, Web::CSS::Selector const& selector)
+    {
+        return Formatter<StringView>::format(builder, selector.serialize());
+    }
+};
+```
+
+More advanced formatters that make check for format-specifier flags can be written by referring to the fields
+in `StandardFormatter` (which most `Formatter` classes extend).
+
+## Detecting if a type can be formatted
+
+The `AK::HasFormatter<T>` template has a boolean value representing whether `T` can be formatted.
+
+The `FormatIfSupported<T>` makes use of this to return either the formatted value of `T`, or a series of `?`s if the
+type cannot be formatted. For example:
+
+```c++
+// B has a Formatter defined, but A does not.
+String::formatted("{}", FormatIfSupported { A {} }) == "?";
+String::formatted("{}", FormatIfSupported { B {} }) == "B";
+```