std:: formatter

The enabled specializations of std::formatter define formatting rules for a given type. Enabled specializations meet the BasicFormatter requirements, and, unless otherwise specified, also meet the Formatter requirements.

For all types T and CharT for which no specialization std::formatter<T, CharT> is enabled, that specialization is a complete type and is disabled.

Disabled specializations do not meet the Formatter requirements, and the following are all false :

• std::is_default_constructible_v
• std::is_copy_constructible_v
• std::is_move_constructible_v
• std::is_copy_assignable_v
• std::is_move_assignable_v .

Basic standard specializations

In the following list, CharT is either char or wchar_t , ArithmeticT is any cv-unqualified arithmetic type other than char , wchar_t , char8_t , char16_t , or char32_t :

Formatters for other pointers and pointers to members are disabled.

Specializations such as std :: formatter < wchar_t , char > and std :: formatter < const char * , wchar_t > that would require encoding conversions are disabled.

Standard format specification

Standard specializations for library types

Example

#include <algorithm>
#include <format>
#include <iomanip>
#include <iostream>
#include <sstream>
#include <string_view>
 
struct QuotableString : std::string_view
{};
 
template<>
struct std::formatter<QuotableString, char>
{
    bool quoted = false;
 
    template<class ParseContext>
    constexpr ParseContext::iterator parse(ParseContext& ctx)
    {
        auto it = ctx.begin();
        if (it == ctx.end())
            return it;
 
        if (*it == '#')
        {
            quoted = true;
            ++it;
        }
        if (it != ctx.end() && *it != '}')
            throw std::format_error("Invalid format args for QuotableString.");
 
        return it;
    }
 
    template<class FmtContext>
    FmtContext::iterator format(QuotableString s, FmtContext& ctx) const
    {
        std::ostringstream out;
        if (quoted)
            out << std::quoted(s);
        else
            out << s;
 
        return std::ranges::copy(std::move(out).str(), ctx.out()).out;
    }
};
 
int main()
{
    QuotableString a("be"), a2(R"( " be " )");
    QuotableString b("a question");
    std::cout << std::format("To {0} or not to {0}, that is {1}.\n", a, b);
    std::cout << std::format("To {0:} or not to {0:}, that is {1:}.\n", a, b);
    std::cout << std::format("To {0:#} or not to {0:#}, that is {1:#}.\n", a2, b);
}

To be or not to be, that is a question.
To be or not to be, that is a question.
To " \" be \" " or not to " \" be \" ", that is "a question".

Defect reports

The following behavior-changing defect reports were applied retroactively to previously published C++ standards.

See also