Question

I m curious why would i use string formatting while i can use concatenation such as

Console.WriteLine("Hello {0} !", name);

Console.WriteLine("Hello "+ name + " !");

Why to prefer the first one over second?

Answer 1

You picked too simple of an example.

String formatting:

• allows you to use the same variable multiple times: ("{0} + {0} = {1}", x, 2*x)
• automatically calls ToString on its arguments: ("{0}: {1}", someKeyObj, someValueObj)
• allows you to specify formatting: ("The value will be {0:3N} (or {1:P}) on {2:MMMM yyyy gg}", x, y, theDate)
• allows you to set padding easily: (">{0,3}<", "hi"); // ">hi <"