[jmlowes]

Hello all. I have written my first Blackberry app and it actually works! Anyway, I do need to pretty it up a little and have two question:

1) The application generates output as strings. How can I format the strings so the output is in a dollars & cents format. For example $125.50 and not $125.5 or $125.4975? I could rip apart the string and test the value after the decimal and adjust accordingly. However, I am hoping there is something simple like printf("%1.2f", value) that can do this. If not, I will have to roll my own.

2) I have a couple buttons in my app that I would like to have side by side. I understand that the default layout manager lays everything out vertically. How would I go about changing this for two buttons. The rest of the app is good layed out vertically.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

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[Mark Rejhon]

1) The application generates output as strings. How can I format the strings so the output is in a dollars & cents format. For example $125.50 and not $125.5 or $125.4975? I could rip apart the string and test the value after the decimal and adjust accordingly. However, I am hoping there is something simple like printf("%1.2f", value) that can do this. If not, I will have to roll my own.

2) I have a couple buttons in my app that I would like to have side by side. I understand that the default layout manager lays everything out vertically. How would I go about changing this for two buttons. The rest of the app is good layed out vertically.

1) Unfortunately, there's no java.util.Formatter so you'll have to roll your own.
When I print the cents in currency values in my apps, I just abs() it to positive, get only the decimal part (value % 1), multiply by 100, add 0.5 if necessary to help rounding to nearest integer, then (int) it to eliminate the rest of decimal digits (Because I pre-multiplied by 100, that gives me the 2-digit cents value as an integer), reconvert this integer to a string, then add a leading '0' if it's 1 character string instead of 2. Annoying series of steps, but works.

2) Create a HorizontalFieldManager object and add your button fields to it. Then add the HorizontalFieldManager to your existing layout manager as if it was a single field. (i.e. treating the horizontal line of fields as a single field) Most of the layout managers are nestable within each other.

[Thyth]

There is such a function in Java standard edition (PrintStream class, the method is format, and works pretty much the same way as the C standard I/O type).

Unfortunately, it hasn't made it over to the BlackBerry PrintStream class.

You might be able to see the implementation by looking at the classpath project, and copy it into your application.

[jmlowes]

Thank you both for your responses. I did use printf when I wrote my app in Java SE and was hoping there was something as simple that I could employ. Oh well, I will copy mdrejhon's approach.

Also, I will use the HorizontalFieldManager and add it to the default layout. I did not realize they could be nested like that, though it does make sense.

Thanks again.

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