uCalc API Version: 2.1.3-preview.2 Released: 6/16/2026

Warning

uCalc API Preview Release Notice:The documentation describes the intended behavior of the API. The current preview build contains incomplete features, unoptimized performance, and is subject to breaking changes.

ToString(string)

Method

Product: 

Fast Math Parser

Class: 

DataType

Parses and converts an input string into a new string, formatted according to the rules of the specific data type.

Syntax

ToString(string)

Parameters

valueString
string
The input string to be parsed and converted.

Return

string

The resulting string after parsing the input and reformatting it based on the data type's rules.

Remarks

The ToString method is a powerful, type-aware parsing utility. Unlike a typical ToString function that serializes an object's current state, this method takes an external string and interprets it according to the rules of the DataType object it is called on.

This is particularly useful for data normalization and validation, as it can convert a single string representation into the canonical format for a given type.

For example, when called on an unsigned 8-bit integer type, it correctly handles overflow wrapping:

// The Int8u type interprets -1 as its max value (255)var dt = uc.DataTypeOf(BuiltInType.Integer_8u);Console.WriteLine(dt.ToString("-1")); // Output: 255

ToString vs. EvalStr

It is crucial to distinguish this method from EvalStr:

  • DataType.ToString(string): Parses a single literal value. It does not evaluate expressions. For example, uc.DataTypeOf("Int").ToString("1+1") would likely fail to parse "1+1" as a valid integer and return "0".
  • uc.EvalStr(string): Parses and evaluates a full expression. For example, uc.EvalStr("1+1") returns "2".

⚖️ Comparative Analysis

In languages like C#, parsing is a static operation tied to a specific type (e.g., int.Parse(), bool.Parse()). This requires compile-time knowledge of the target type.

uCalc's approach is dynamic. You can hold a DataType object in a variable and call ToString on it without knowing at compile time which specific type it represents. This enables the creation of generic, powerful data validation and conversion routines that can be configured at runtime.

See also: ToString(pointer), the overload which converts a value from a memory address.

Examples

Using ToString to convert a value to a string
				
					using uCalcSoftware;

var uc = new uCalc();
Console.WriteLine(uc.DataTypeOf(BuiltInType.Integer_8).ToString("-1"));
Console.WriteLine(uc.DataTypeOf(BuiltInType.Integer_8u).ToString("-1"));
Console.WriteLine(uc.DataTypeOf(BuiltInType.Integer_16u).ToString("-1"));
Console.WriteLine(uc.DataTypeOf(BuiltInType.Boolean).ToString("-1"));
Console.WriteLine(uc.DataTypeOf(BuiltInType.String).ToString("-1"));
				
			
-1
255
65535
true
-1
				
					#include <iostream>
#include "uCalc.h"

using namespace std;
using namespace uCalcSoftware;

int main() {
   uCalc uc;
   cout << uc.DataTypeOf(BuiltInType::Integer_8).ToString("-1") << endl;
   cout << uc.DataTypeOf(BuiltInType::Integer_8u).ToString("-1") << endl;
   cout << uc.DataTypeOf(BuiltInType::Integer_16u).ToString("-1") << endl;
   cout << uc.DataTypeOf(BuiltInType::Boolean).ToString("-1") << endl;
   cout << uc.DataTypeOf(BuiltInType::String).ToString("-1") << endl;
}
				
			
-1
255
65535
true
-1
				
					Imports System
Imports uCalcSoftware
Public Module Program
   Public Sub Main()
      Dim uc As New uCalc()
      Console.WriteLine(uc.DataTypeOf(BuiltInType.Integer_8).ToString("-1"))
      Console.WriteLine(uc.DataTypeOf(BuiltInType.Integer_8u).ToString("-1"))
      Console.WriteLine(uc.DataTypeOf(BuiltInType.Integer_16u).ToString("-1"))
      Console.WriteLine(uc.DataTypeOf(BuiltInType.Boolean).ToString("-1"))
      Console.WriteLine(uc.DataTypeOf(BuiltInType.String).ToString("-1"))
   End Sub
End Module
				
			
-1
255
65535
true
-1
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