ToString Debug vs Display strategies & preferences

[Berryl Hesh]

I'm interested in how experienced.Net developers might handle routine
display tasks as a general strategy. Let's say you have a use in your domain
for value objects that encapsulate a person's Name, for example.

Would anyone write a custom format provider to display the last name first
("Phelps, Michael"), or first name first ("Michael Phelps")? Or use the
familiar name instead ("Mike"). Would you use some other technique? Would
you provide a Parse method?

How about generalized debugging ToString stratagies? Any favorite techniques
and / or tools? For example, "[FIRSTNAME = Mike, LASTNAME = Phelps]".

TIA, and thanks for sharing your experience!

[Clive Dixon]

Re: ToString Debug vs Display strategies & preferences

For the kind of scenario you give as an example, I would give the class an
IFormattable implementation as well as ToString() override. Then a user of
the class can format the name in any of the ways the implementation
supports, rather than being confined to a fixed way of doing it. Your
ToString() override would then just call the ToString("g",nu ll) ("g" for
generic/general, following the framework implementation for standard format
strings) of the IFormattable. You could have format strings "f" and "l" for
first name and last name, and so call ToString("g",nu ll) giving "Michael
Phelps" (arbitraily chosen "standard format), ToString("f",nu ll) giving
"Michael", ToString("l",nu ll) giving "Phelps", ToString("fl",n ull) giving
"Michael Phelps", ToString("lf",n ull) giving "Phelps, Michael" etc. (I would
probably also provide a ToString(string fmt) which just calls
IFormattable.To String(fmt,null ) to avoid having to pass a null all the
time.)

For debugging, I often use the DebuggerDisplay (or DebuggerProxy) attribute
on the class. Sometimes I just call ToString() from this, more often I will
individually access certain properties so it's clear what each property
value in the object is. It all depends on what I want to see for that
particular class.

// Alternative 1a
[DebuggerDisplay ("Name = {ToString()}")]
// Alternative 1b
[DebuggerDisplay ("Name = {ToString("lf") }")]
// Alternative 2
[DebuggerDisplay ("FirstName = {FirstName}, LastName = {LastName}")]
class Person : IFormattable
{
public string FirstName { get; }
public string LastName { get; }

public override string ToString()
{
return ToString("g",nu ll);
}

public string ToString(string fmt, IFormatProvider fp)
{
switch (fmt)
{
case "g":
default:
return string.Format(" {0} {1}",FirstName, LastName);
case "f":
case "l":
case "fl":
case "lf":
//etc.
}
}
}

"Berryl Hesh" <efinger9@yahoo .comwrote in message
news:poIqk.257$ RV7.105@newsfe0 1.iad...

I'm interested in how experienced.Net developers might handle routine
display tasks as a general strategy. Let's say you have a use in your
domain for value objects that encapsulate a person's Name, for example.
>
Would anyone write a custom format provider to display the last name first
("Phelps, Michael"), or first name first ("Michael Phelps")? Or use the
familiar name instead ("Mike"). Would you use some other technique? Would
you provide a Parse method?
>
How about generalized debugging ToString stratagies? Any favorite
techniques and / or tools? For example, "[FIRSTNAME = Mike, LASTNAME =
Phelps]".
>
TIA, and thanks for sharing your experience!
>

[Berryl Hesh]

Re: ToString Debug vs Display strategies &amp; preferences

wow - great response

My instincts were to do something like what you say but wrriting the format
provider seems intimidating, Guess I have no excuse for not working one
through now.

Thanks!


"Clive Dixon" <clived at digita dot comwrote in message
news:uwsv3spAJH A.4964@TK2MSFTN GP02.phx.gbl...

For the kind of scenario you give as an example, I would give the class an
IFormattable implementation as well as ToString() override. Then a user of
the class can format the name in any of the ways the implementation
supports, rather than being confined to a fixed way of doing it. Your
ToString() override would then just call the ToString("g",nu ll) ("g" for
generic/general, following the framework implementation for standard
format strings) of the IFormattable. You could have format strings "f" and
"l" for first name and last name, and so call ToString("g",nu ll) giving
"Michael Phelps" (arbitraily chosen "standard format), ToString("f",nu ll)
giving "Michael", ToString("l",nu ll) giving "Phelps", ToString("fl",n ull)
giving "Michael Phelps", ToString("lf",n ull) giving "Phelps, Michael" etc.
(I would probably also provide a ToString(string fmt) which just calls
IFormattable.To String(fmt,null ) to avoid having to pass a null all the
time.)
>
For debugging, I often use the DebuggerDisplay (or DebuggerProxy)
attribute on the class. Sometimes I just call ToString() from this, more
often I will individually access certain properties so it's clear what
each property value in the object is. It all depends on what I want to see
for that particular class.
>
// Alternative 1a
[DebuggerDisplay ("Name = {ToString()}")]
// Alternative 1b
[DebuggerDisplay ("Name = {ToString("lf") }")]
// Alternative 2
[DebuggerDisplay ("FirstName = {FirstName}, LastName = {LastName}")]
class Person : IFormattable
{
public string FirstName { get; }
public string LastName { get; }
>
public override string ToString()
{
return ToString("g",nu ll);
}
>
public string ToString(string fmt, IFormatProvider fp)
{
switch (fmt)
{
case "g":
default:
return string.Format(" {0} {1}",FirstName, LastName);
case "f":
case "l":
case "fl":
case "lf":
//etc.
}
}
}
>
"Berryl Hesh" <efinger9@yahoo .comwrote in message
news:poIqk.257$ RV7.105@newsfe0 1.iad...

>I'm interested in how experienced.Net developers might handle routine
>display tasks as a general strategy. Let's say you have a use in your
>domain for value objects that encapsulate a person's Name, for example.
>>
>Would anyone write a custom format provider to display the last name
>first ("Phelps, Michael"), or first name first ("Michael Phelps")? Or use
>the familiar name instead ("Mike"). Would you use some other technique?
>Would you provide a Parse method?
>>
>How about generalized debugging ToString stratagies? Any favorite
>techniques and / or tools? For example, "[FIRSTNAME = Mike, LASTNAME =
>Phelps]".
>>
>TIA, and thanks for sharing your experience!
>>

>
>