Format numbers in JavaScript similar to C#

Question

Is there a simple way to format numbers in JavaScript, similar to the formatting methods available in C# (or VB.NET) via ToString(\"format_provider\") or

Answer 1

Here are some solutions, all pass the test suite, test suite and benchmark included, if you want copy and paste to test, try This Gist.

Method 0 (RegExp)

Base on https://stackoverflow.com/a/14428340/1877620, but fix if there is no decimal point.

if (typeof Number.prototype.format === 'undefined') {
    Number.prototype.format = function (precision) {
        if (!isFinite(this)) {
            return this.toString();
        }

        var a = this.toFixed(precision).split('.');
        a[0] = a[0].replace(/\d(?=(\d{3})+$)/g, '$&,');
        return a.join('.');
    }
}

Method 1

if (typeof Number.prototype.format1 === 'undefined') {
    Number.prototype.format1 = function (precision) {
        if (!isFinite(this)) {
            return this.toString();
        }

        var a = this.toFixed(precision).split('.'),
            // skip the '-' sign
            head = Number(this < 0);

        // skip the digits that's before the first thousands separator 
        head += (a[0].length - head) % 3 || 3;

        a[0] = a[0].slice(0, head) + a[0].slice(head).replace(/\d{3}/g, ',$&');
        return a.join('.');
    };
}

Method 2 (Split to Array)

if (typeof Number.prototype.format2 === 'undefined') {
    Number.prototype.format2 = function (precision) {
        if (!isFinite(this)) {
            return this.toString();
        }

        var a = this.toFixed(precision).split('.');

        a[0] = a[0]
            .split('').reverse().join('')
            .replace(/\d{3}(?=\d)/g, '$&,')
            .split('').reverse().join('');

        return a.join('.');
    };
}

Method 3 (Loop)

if (typeof Number.prototype.format3 === 'undefined') {
    Number.prototype.format3 = function (precision) {
        if (!isFinite(this)) {
            return this.toString();
        }

        var a = this.toFixed(precision).split('');
        a.push('.');

        var i = a.indexOf('.') - 3;
        while (i > 0 && a[i-1] !== '-') {
            a.splice(i, 0, ',');
            i -= 3;
        }

        a.pop();
        return a.join('');
    };
}

Example

console.log('======== Demo ========')
var n = 0;
for (var i=1; i<20; i++) {
    n = (n * 10) + (i % 10)/100;
    console.log(n.format(2), (-n).format(2));
}

Separator

If we want custom thousands separator or decimal separator, use replace():

123456.78.format(2).replace(',', ' ').replace('.', ' ');

Test suite

function assertEqual(a, b) {
    if (a !== b) {
        throw a + ' !== ' + b;
    }
}

function test(format_function) {
    console.log(format_function);
    assertEqual('NaN', format_function.call(NaN, 0))
    assertEqual('Infinity', format_function.call(Infinity, 0))
    assertEqual('-Infinity', format_function.call(-Infinity, 0))

    assertEqual('0', format_function.call(0, 0))
    assertEqual('0.00', format_function.call(0, 2))
    assertEqual('1', format_function.call(1, 0))
    assertEqual('-1', format_function.call(-1, 0))
    // decimal padding
    assertEqual('1.00', format_function.call(1, 2))
    assertEqual('-1.00', format_function.call(-1, 2))
    // decimal rounding
    assertEqual('0.12', format_function.call(0.123456, 2))
    assertEqual('0.1235', format_function.call(0.123456, 4))
    assertEqual('-0.12', format_function.call(-0.123456, 2))
    assertEqual('-0.1235', format_function.call(-0.123456, 4))
    // thousands separator
    assertEqual('1,234', format_function.call(1234.123456, 0))
    assertEqual('12,345', format_function.call(12345.123456, 0))
    assertEqual('123,456', format_function.call(123456.123456, 0))
    assertEqual('1,234,567', format_function.call(1234567.123456, 0))
    assertEqual('12,345,678', format_function.call(12345678.123456, 0))
    assertEqual('123,456,789', format_function.call(123456789.123456, 0))
    assertEqual('-1,234', format_function.call(-1234.123456, 0))
    assertEqual('-12,345', format_function.call(-12345.123456, 0))
    assertEqual('-123,456', format_function.call(-123456.123456, 0))
    assertEqual('-1,234,567', format_function.call(-1234567.123456, 0))
    assertEqual('-12,345,678', format_function.call(-12345678.123456, 0))
    assertEqual('-123,456,789', format_function.call(-123456789.123456, 0))
    // thousands separator and decimal
    assertEqual('1,234.12', format_function.call(1234.123456, 2))
    assertEqual('12,345.12', format_function.call(12345.123456, 2))
    assertEqual('123,456.12', format_function.call(123456.123456, 2))
    assertEqual('1,234,567.12', format_function.call(1234567.123456, 2))
    assertEqual('12,345,678.12', format_function.call(12345678.123456, 2))
    assertEqual('123,456,789.12', format_function.call(123456789.123456, 2))
    assertEqual('-1,234.12', format_function.call(-1234.123456, 2))
    assertEqual('-12,345.12', format_function.call(-12345.123456, 2))
    assertEqual('-123,456.12', format_function.call(-123456.123456, 2))
    assertEqual('-1,234,567.12', format_function.call(-1234567.123456, 2))
    assertEqual('-12,345,678.12', format_function.call(-12345678.123456, 2))
    assertEqual('-123,456,789.12', format_function.call(-123456789.123456, 2))
}

console.log('======== Testing ========');
test(Number.prototype.format);
test(Number.prototype.format1);
test(Number.prototype.format2);
test(Number.prototype.format3);

Benchmark

function benchmark(f) {
    var start = new Date().getTime();
    f();
    return new Date().getTime() - start;
}

function benchmark_format(f) {
    console.log(f);
    time = benchmark(function () {
        for (var i = 0; i < 100000; i++) {
            f.call(123456789, 0);
            f.call(123456789, 2);
        }
    });
    console.log(time.format(0) + 'ms');
}

async = [];
function next() {
    setTimeout(function () {
        f = async.shift();
        f && f();
        next();
    }, 10);
}

console.log('======== Benchmark ========');
async.push(function () { benchmark_format(Number.prototype.format); });
async.push(function () { benchmark_format(Number.prototype.format1); });
async.push(function () { benchmark_format(Number.prototype.format2); });
async.push(function () { benchmark_format(Number.prototype.format3); });
next();