Objective c string formatter for distances

Question

I have a distance as a float and I\'m looking for a way to format it nicely for human readers. Ideally, I\'d like it to change from m to km as it gets bigger, and to round the n

Answer 1

For those looking for a swift 2.0 version. Ported from @MattDiPasquale

 extension Double {
  func toDistanceString() -> String {
    let METERS_TO_FEET = 3.2808399
    let METERS_CUTOFF = 1000.0
    let FEET_CUTOFF = 3281.0
    let FEET_IN_MILES =  5280.0

    let format:String
    if (NSLocale.isMetric()) {
      if (self < METERS_CUTOFF) {
        format = "\(self.stringWithDecimals(0)) metres"
      } else {
        format = "\((self / 1000).stringWithDecimals(1)) km";
      }
    } else { // assume Imperial / U.S.
      let feet = self * METERS_TO_FEET;
      if (feet < FEET_CUTOFF) {
        format = "\(feet.stringWithDecimals(0)) feet";
      } else {
        format = "\((self / FEET_IN_MILES).stringWithDecimals(1)) miles";
      }
    }
    return format
  }

  func stringWithDecimals(decimals:Int) -> String {
    return String(format: "%.\(decimals)f", self)
  }
}

extension NSLocale {
  class func isMetric() -> Bool {
    let locale = NSLocale.currentLocale()
    return locale.objectForKey(NSLocaleUsesMetricSystem) as! Bool
  }
}