The simplest way to get started with the Formatter class is to create a new instance of it, and then do some work. You'll see in later labs that this isn't always the best way to go about business, but it's as good a starting point as any.
Formatter has several constructors, listed here:
// No-args version -- not particularly useful public Formatter( ); // Basically, the no-args version with a locale public Formatter(Locale l); // Creates a formatter with the supplied destination (sink) public Formatter(Appendable a); // Creates a formatter with the destination, using the supplied locale public Formatter(Appendable a, Locale l); // Creates a new formatter with the filename as the sink public Formatter(String fileName); // Creates a new formatter with a file as the sink, using the specified charset public Formatter(String fileName, String csn); // Same as above, but with a locale public Formatter(String fileName, String csn, Locale l);
This is a pretty wide range of options, and should cover your most basic formatting needs. Thus, you could use code such as this to create a Formatter targeted at a StringBuilder:
StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder( ); Formatter formatter = new Formatter(sb, Locale.FRANCE); // The next lab details what you can do with Formatter
I realize this seems sort of trivial, but it's meant to be. Formatter is a new class, but not a particularly difficult one to master.
NOTE
If you're unfamiliar with StringBuilder, check out the lab at the end of this chapter.