[Gambas-user] I create a new function to share

[Benoît Minisini]

> Benoît Minisini ha scritto:
> >> Benoît Minisini ha scritto:
> >>>> Changed file "/usr/share/i18n/locales/it_IT" so the section:
> >>>>
> >>>>     LC_NUMERIC
> >>>>     decimal_point             "<U002C>"
> >>>>     thousands_sep             ""      <------------ empty string
> >>>>     grouping                  0;0
> >>>>     END LC_NUMERIC
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> results in:
> >>>>
> >>>>     LC_NUMERIC
> >>>>     decimal_point             "<U002C>"
> >>>>     thousands_sep             "<U002E>"   <------- dot simbol
> >>>>     grouping                  0;0
> >>>>     END LC_NUMERIC
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> ...and now it works ok.
> >>>>
> >>>> I don't know why there is this error - don't even know if this *is* an
> >>>> error, but now it works as expected. If somebody confirms to me that
> >>>> the value of *thousand_sep* should not be empty, I can post a bug to
> >>>> the maintainer of the file *BUT*:
> >>>>
> >>>> It is worth to note that in that file, a few lines above, in the
> >>>> section LC_MONETARY, the thousand separator is correctly indicated. As
> >>>> Benoit says, all this could be correct - if we want thousand
> >>>> separators perhaps we have to use the monetary notation and not a
> >>>> "general number" one. In fact, to separate the thousands is more a
> >>>> commercial habit than a general/scientific one. But if this is true,
> >>>> then perhaps gambas lacks a CURRENCY data type, or a mean to use a
> >>>> currency/monetary representation inside format$(). By the way, a
> >>>> CURRENCY data type could come handy by itself - I had some problems
> >>>> with rounding floating point values and, in all the places where
> >>>> calculations were done (simple additions and subtraction of numbers
> >>>> with only two decimals of precision, normal for currency), I had to
> >>>> modify the code and round down values myself - tired of
> >>>> "1.999,99999998" numbers...
> >>>>
> >>>> In other languages the CURRENCY datatype is defined as an INT64 which,
> >>>> when printed or mixed with other numerical types, is first divided (or
> >>>> multiplied) by 10000 (ten thousands). In other words, the number 22,5
> >>>> (twentytwo and a half) is stored as the integer 225000. This way, all
> >>>> rounding errors are get rid of.
> >>>>
> >>>> Regards,
> >>>> Doriano
> >>>
> >>> I won't make a Currency data type, but you can do:
> >>>
> >>> Print Format$(Amount, "$0,###.##")
> >>>
> >>> to format currencies (see the documentation of Format).
> >>>
> >>> Regards,
> >>
> >> I saw the documentation, but not always I want to have the currency
> >> symbol printed... is there a way to use the thousand separator without
> >> putting a currency symbol in?
> >>
> >> Thanks anyway and regards,
> >> Doriano
> >
> > Don't put the '$' sign. But beware that then the thousand separator used
> > won't be the "currency" one but the normal one.
>
> ...and this leads again to the starting point...
>
> I don't know i18n enough, and perhaps Gambas neither, but this is what I
> have understood until now:
>
> 1. i18n says that a "normal" number has no thousand separator; instead a
> currency ("monetary") has it. Thinking again and again, this could make
> sense.
>
> 2. KDE desktop has its own management. Don't know how and why - perhaps
> those guys want to run KDE without i18n dependency. Gambas uses much of
> KDE, but not its locale settings. This again could make sense.
>
> 3. Using native Gambas functions there is no way to format a number like
> a monetary one, without putting the currency symbol in place.
>
> 4. Anyway, i18n says that the thousand separator is _nothing_, not a
> space. Which is different.
>
> 5. I *could* modify the relevant file, just to see it overwritten the
> next time a system update takes place. Anyway, I think that that file is
> correct.
>
> All the things make sense, but I can not believe that one can not format
> a currency without putting the monetary symbol in. Sounds strange, true?
>
> Regards,

Sorry, I didn't understand that you wanted to format a currency value without 
the currency symbol. Strange anyway...

As a workaround, you can use the following function:

PRIVATE SUB FormatCurrency(eValue AS Float, sFormat AS String) AS String
  
  DIM sCurr AS String
  DIM sResult AS String
  DIM iPos AS Integer
  
  sCurr = Format(0, "$0")
  sCurr = Replace(sCurr, "0", "")

  FOR iPos = 1 TO Len(sFormat)
    IF InStr("0#", Mid$(sFormat, iPos, 1)) THEN BREAK 
  NEXT

  sResult = Format(eValue, Left(sFormat, iPos - 1) & "$" & 
    Mid$(sFormat, iPos + 1))

  sResult = Replace(sResult, sCurr, "")
  
  RETURN sResult
 
END

Regards,

-- 
Benoît