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Number Conversion (1 to "1st", etc)

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19 Mar 2003 80.7K   22   13
An article on Number Conversion from the basic number to the number with a following suffix. (ie, 1 to "1st")

Introduction

This little function is really simple, but comes in very handy. I have come across this issue many times and usually just dodge it when I can, but finally I had a project that insisted that I format some numbers this way, so alas, here I am.

Using The Code

This is just a basic function call. Send it any number greater than 0 and it will return the number formatted with a "st", "nd", "rd" or "th" after it. Sending it "" will cause an error message to be displayed.

VBScript
dim iTestNumber 'number to be passed to function
dim sNewNumber  'string returned from function
dim x           'loop incriment

' this function will format a number with it's given suffix. (1st, 2nd, 3rd)<BR><BR>Function BuildNumber(iNum) <BR>    dim sNewNum
    sNewNum = iNum
    
    if right(iNum, 2) = "11" or right(iNum, 2) = "12" or _
       right(iNum, 2) = "13" then
        sNewNum = sNewNum & "th"
    else
        iNum = right(iNum, 1)

        select case iNum
            case "1"
                sNewNum = sNewNum & "st"
            case "2"
                sNewNum = sNewNum & "nd"
            case "3"
                sNewNum = sNewNum & "rd"
            case ""
                sNewNum = "error"
            case else
                sNewNum = sNewNum & "th"
        end select

    end if
    if sNewNum = "error" then
        response.write "There was an error with the date passed to the "<BR>        response.write "function. The date must be an integer greater "<BR>        response.write "than 0 and not equal to blank. Please use the "<BR>        response.write "back button to fix the problem or contact customer "<BR>        response.write "support. Thank you."
        response.End
    end if

    buildnumber = sNewNum    
end function

for x = 1 to 100
   iTestNumber = x
   sNewNumber = BuildNumber(iTestNumber)
   
   response.write("This is the value sent to the function: "<BR>   response.write iTestNumber & "<br>")
   response.write("This is the value returned from the function: "<BR>   response.write "sNewNumber & "<br><HR>")
next

response.end

Points of Interest

Watch out for the little catches such as "11", "12" and "13" all end in "th" rather than "st", "nd" and "rd". I think those are the only exceptions though. It should work for negative numbers, but I'm not sure why you would want to do that. But that's up to you.

License

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Comments and Discussions

 
QuestionAnother way Pin
JBress9-Sep-11 22:47
JBress9-Sep-11 22:47 
GeneralError Pin
Eosian1-Aug-05 6:13
Eosian1-Aug-05 6:13 
GeneralRe: Error Pin
glitch177k1-Aug-05 7:03
glitch177k1-Aug-05 7:03 
GeneralRe: Error Pin
Eosian1-Aug-05 7:43
Eosian1-Aug-05 7:43 
GeneralMore on formatting Pin
allia3-Nov-03 9:54
allia3-Nov-03 9:54 
GeneralRe: More on formatting Pin
glitch177k3-Nov-03 10:11
glitch177k3-Nov-03 10:11 
http://www.w3schools.com/vbscript/func_formatnumber.asp

That should be what you're looking for. And yes, it is built in.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, the average word is worth 7 letters, and a letter is equal to about 10 pixels, how many photos could I trade in for one of those fancy flat monitors?
GeneralThanks! Pin
allia3-Nov-03 10:14
allia3-Nov-03 10:14 
General11, 12 and 13 Pin
Simon Armstrong20-Mar-03 23:53
Simon Armstrong20-Mar-03 23:53 
GeneralRe: 11, 12 and 13 Pin
glitch177k21-Mar-03 4:05
glitch177k21-Mar-03 4:05 
GeneralRe: 11, 12 and 13 Pin
Ramona25-Mar-03 7:26
Ramona25-Mar-03 7:26 
GeneralRe: 11, 12 and 13 Pin
glitch177k25-Mar-03 8:07
glitch177k25-Mar-03 8:07 
GeneralRe: 11, 12 and 13 Pin
Ramona25-Mar-03 8:47
Ramona25-Mar-03 8:47 
GeneralRe: 11, 12 and 13 Pin
Ramona25-Mar-03 9:02
Ramona25-Mar-03 9:02 

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