Question

Is there any sane reason why the function String.Format in .net (for C# and VB.net at least) shared and not like .split, .substring or whatever a normal function.

What would be bad about

Dim a as String = "1+2={0}".format(1+2) (would be good)

vs.

Dim a as String = String.Format("1+2={0}",1+2) (the way it works)

It always bugs me when using this function – which i do quite often.

Thx.

Answer 1

Maybe Eric Lippert still has the design notes on that but apart from that I don’t think this can be accurately answered.

Still, as a workaround, if you desperately need this, then you can write an extension method:

public static string Format(this string fmt, params object[] args) {
    return string.Format(fmt, args);
}

My guess is that most string methods actually operate on the string, transforming it in a straightforward and foreseeable manner, such as Substring, Replace and PadLeft. With Format the core string is just a pattern that is applied to integrate the operands into. Conceptually most instance methods on string can be seen as manipulating a string (I know, this isn’t what happens, I’m just painting a picture here), while the static methods just work with it.

As noted, just a guess. In the end it probably was just a decision and the reason was lost in time.