How do I change DecimalFormat pattern?

To change the pattern use by the DecimalFormat when formatting a number we can use the DecimalFormat.applyPattern() method call. In this example we use three different patterns to format the given input number. The pattern determines what the formatted number looks like.

package org.kodejava.text;

import java.text.DecimalFormat;
import java.text.NumberFormat;
import java.util.Locale;

public class FormatterPattern {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        String[] patterns = {"###,###,###.##", "000000000.00", "$###,###.##"};

        double before = 1234567.899;

        // To obtain a NumberFormat for a specific locale,
        // including the default locale, call one of NumberFormat's
        // factory methods, such as getNumberInstance(). Then cast
        // it into a DecimalFormat.
        DecimalFormat format =
                (DecimalFormat) NumberFormat.getNumberInstance(Locale.UK);
        for (String pattern : patterns) {
            // Apply the given pattern to this Format object
            format.applyPattern(pattern);

            // Gets the formatted value
            String after = format.format(before);

            System.out.printf("Input: %s, Pattern: %s, Output: %s%n",
                    before, pattern, after);
        }
    }
}

The output of the program shown below:

Input: 1234567.899, Pattern: ###,###,###.##, Output: 1,234,567.9
Input: 1234567.899, Pattern: 000000000.00, Output: 001234567.90
Input: 1234567.899, Pattern: $###,###.##, Output: $1,234,567.9

How do I format number as percentage string?

The NumberFormat.getPercentInstance() method returns a percentage format for the specified locale. In this example we will format the number as percentage using the Locale.US locale.

package org.kodejava.text;

import java.text.NumberFormat;
import java.util.Locale;

public class LocalePercentageFormat {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        // Format percentage for Locale.US locale with this formatter,
        // a decimal fraction such as 0.75 is displayed as 75%
        double number = 0.25;
        NumberFormat format = NumberFormat.getPercentInstance(Locale.US);
        String percentage = format.format(number);
        System.out.println(number + " in percentage = " + percentage);
    }
}

The following line is the output of the program:

0.25 in percentage = 25%

How do I format a number as currency string?

Creating a financial application requires you to format number as a currency. It should include the correct thousand separator, decimal separator and the currency symbol. For this purpose you can use the NumberFormat.getCurrencyInstance() method and pass the correct Locale to get the currency format that you want.

package org.kodejava.text;

import java.text.NumberFormat;
import java.util.Locale;

public class LocaleCurrencyFormat {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Double number = 1500D;

        // Format currency for Canada locale in Canada locale, 
        // the decimal point symbol is a comma and currency
        // symbol is $.
        NumberFormat format = NumberFormat.getCurrencyInstance(Locale.CANADA);
        String currency = format.format(number);
        System.out.println("Currency in Canada : " + currency);

        // Format currency for Germany locale in German locale,
        // the decimal point symbol is a dot and currency symbol
        // is €.
        format = NumberFormat.getCurrencyInstance(Locale.GERMANY);
        currency = format.format(number);
        System.out.println("Currency in Germany: " + currency);
    }
}

Here is an output for the currency format using the Locale.CANADA and Locale.GERMANY.

Currency in Canada : $1,500.00
Currency in Germany: 1.500,00 €

How do I format a message that contains number information?

This example show you how to use java.text.MessageFormat class to format a message that contains numbers.

package org.kodejava.text;

import java.text.MessageFormat;
import java.util.Locale;

public class MessageFormatNumber {
    public static void main(String[] args) {

        // Set the Locale for the MessageFormat.
        Locale.setDefault(Locale.US);

        // Use the default formatting for number.
        String message = MessageFormat.format("This is a {0} and {1} numbers",
                10, 75);
        System.out.println(message);

        // This line has the same format as above.
        message = MessageFormat.format("This is a {0,number} and {1,number} " +
                "numbers", 10, 75);
        System.out.println(message);

        // Format a number with 2 decimal digits.
        message = MessageFormat.format("This is a formatted {0, number,#.##} " +
                "and {1, number,#.##} numbers", 25.7575, 75.2525);
        System.out.println(message);

        // Format a number as currency.
        message = MessageFormat.format("This is a formatted currency " +
                        "{0,number,currency} and {1,number,currency} numbers",
                25.7575, 25.7575);
        System.out.println(message);

        // Format numbers in percentage.
        message = MessageFormat.format("This is a formatted percentage " +
                "{0,number,percent} and {1,number,percent} numbers", 0.10, 0.75);
        System.out.println(message);
    }
}

The result of the program are the following lines:

This is a 10 and 75 numbers
This is a 10 and 75 numbers
This is a formatted 25.76 and 75.25 numbers
This is a formatted currency $25.76 and $25.76 numbers
This is a formatted percentage 10% and 75% numbers

How do I format a message that contains time information?

Here we demonstrate how to use the java.text.MessageFormat class to format a message contains time information.

package org.kodejava.text;

import java.util.Date;
import java.util.Calendar;
import java.util.Locale;
import java.text.MessageFormat;

public class MessageFormatTime {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Date today = new Date();
        Calendar calendar = Calendar.getInstance();
        calendar.add(Calendar.HOUR, 7);

        Date next7Hours = calendar.getTime();

        // We want the message to be is Locale.US
        Locale.setDefault(Locale.US);

        // Format a time including date information.
        String message = MessageFormat.format("Now is {0} and the next " +
                "7 hours is {1}", today, next7Hours);
        System.out.println(message);

        // Format a time and display only the time portion
        message = MessageFormat.format("Now is {0, time} and the next " +
                "7 hours is {1, time}", today, next7Hours);
        System.out.println(message);

        // Format a time using a short format (e.g. HH:mm am/pm)
        message = MessageFormat.format("Now is {0, time, short} and " +
                "the next 7 hours is {1, time, short}", today, next7Hours);
        System.out.println(message);

        // Format a time using a medium format (eg. HH:mm:ss am/pm).
        message = MessageFormat.format("Now is {0, time, medium} and " +
                "the next 7 hours is {1, time, medium}", today, next7Hours);
        System.out.println(message);

        // Format a time using a long format (e.g. HH:mm:ss am/pm TIMEZONE).
        message = MessageFormat.format("Now is {0, time, long} and the " +
                "next 7 hours is {1, time, long}", today, next7Hours);
        System.out.println(message);

        // Format a time using a full format (e.g. HH:mm:ss am/pm TIMEZONE).
        message = MessageFormat.format("Now is {0, time, full} and the " +
                "next 7 hours is {1, time, full}", today, next7Hours);
        System.out.println(message);

        // Format a time using a custom pattern.
        message = MessageFormat.format("Now is {0, time, HH:mm:ss.sss} " +
                "and the next 7 hours is {1, time, HH:mm:ss.sss}", today, next7Hours);
        System.out.println(message);
    }
}

The above program produces:

Now is 10/8/21, 9:38 PM and the next 7 hours is 10/9/21, 4:38 AM
Now is 9:38:10 PM and the next 7 hours is 4:38:10 AM
Now is 9:38 PM and the next 7 hours is 4:38 AM
Now is 9:38:10 PM and the next 7 hours is 4:38:10 AM
Now is 9:38:10 PM CST and the next 7 hours is 4:38:10 AM CST
Now is 9:38:10 PM China Standard Time and the next 7 hours is 4:38:10 AM China Standard Time
Now is  21:38:10.010 and the next 7 hours is  04:38:10.010