Formatting
Formatting is the arrangement or transformation of content, data, or code according to specified structural, stylistic, or presentation conventions.
Learn PowerShell in a Month of Lunches: Fourth Edition, Covers Windows, Linux, and macOS
The formatting system is PowerShell's subsystem for converting objects into instructions for human-readable textual or onscreen output.
- How it is used
- Shapes collected PowerShell objects into readable reports and command output.
- How deep it goes
- Explains default views, type selection, and major pitfalls, but defers advanced combined-object formatting and undocumented custom-view XML.
- Examples
- Uses Get-Process, Get-History, PSReadLine formatting files, Get-Member, Get-FormatData, and experiments with the three main Format- cmdlets.
- What you can do after
- Practice/perform custom output formatting and recognize pipeline mixtures that produce unreliable displays.
React in Depth
A formatting rule is a specification for the syntactic style or layout that source files must follow.
- How it is used
- Standardizes source layout to reduce stylistic debates and help collaborators work consistently.
- How deep it goes
- Works through stylistic and line-break variants, then gives package, editor, and commit-hook steps without explaining formatter internals.
- Examples
- Contrasts quotes and spacing, then reformats a JavaScript filter expression as its conditions grow.
- What you can do after
- Operate/configure it: install Prettier, optionally adjust `.prettierrc`, integrate an editor, and optionally check changed files before commits.
Learn PowerShell Scripting in a Month of Lunches, Second Edition: Write and organize scripts and tools
A formatting system is the subsystem that applies display rules to structured data and generates instructions for rendering it.
- How it is used
- Separates command logic from the visual presentation of structured PowerShell output.
- How deep it goes
- Descends from automatic table-or-list selection to default views, XML format files, and module manifests.
- Examples
- Uses Get-DiskInfo output containing computer, domain controller, hardware, model, and memory properties.
- What you can do after
- Configure default and custom views that improve presentation without changing command output objects.
Learn Rust in a Month of Lunches
- How it is used
- Formats Rust output through println!, from string contents and values to aligned numeric representations.
- How deep it goes
- Demonstrates escapes, raw strings, byte output, Unicode escapes, pointers, numeric bases, argument selection, and alignment.
- Examples
- Uses file paths, hashtags, byte arrays, Unicode characters, pointer addresses, number bases, and aligned headings.
- What you can do after
- Apply Rust println! formatting to print raw or escaped text, inspect bytes and addresses, select numeric bases, and align fields.
Read how Learn Rust in a Month of Lunches explains formatting →
Shipping Go: Develop, deliver, discuss, design, and go again
Code formatting is the automated or manual arrangement of source code according to consistent syntactic and stylistic conventions.
- How it is used
- Standardizes team code and moves a simple quality check into automated development and delivery workflows.
- How deep it goes
- Explains style choices, formatter behavior, local automation, and CI enforcement without developing formatter internals.
- Examples
- Uses Go fmt commands, Makefile targets, and a CI format-check job as concrete formatting artifacts.
- What you can do after
- Operate Go formatting locally and enforce unchanged formatting before tests through a CI pipeline.
Read how Shipping Go: Develop, deliver, discuss, design, and go again explains formatting →
Data Pipelines with Apache Airflow, Second Edition
A code formatter is a software tool that rewrites source code into a consistent formatting style according to configured or built-in rules.
- How it is used
- Applies a shared Python style across project code, especially DAG files maintained by multiple contributors.
- How deep it goes
- Demonstrates formatter behavior, installation, execution, and before-and-after output, but does not detail formatter configuration.
- Examples
- Uses noncompliant Python snippets, a reformatted function, and Black command output as concrete examples.
- What you can do after
- Apply consistent Python formatting with Black or YAPF and combine it with static checks when needed.
Read how Data Pipelines with Apache Airflow, Second Edition explains formatting →
D3.js in Action, Third Edition
Data formatting is the process of transforming data values and structure into a form suitable for subsequent processing or presentation.
- How it is used
- Prepares imported or gathered data for subsequent visualization and processing.
- How deep it goes
- Demonstrates row inspection, type conversion, property selection, and deferred whole-dataset formatting.
- Examples
- Uses D3 CSV rows containing technology and count fields, plus gathered paintings, drawings, and letters data.
- What you can do after
- Build it from scratch by converting CSV rows into visualization-ready JavaScript objects.
Read how D3.js in Action, Third Edition explains formatting →
Related concepts
- viewuses · A view is a named, stored set of formatting rules for displaying objects of a particular type.
- gofmtimplemented by · gofmt is Go’s standard source-code formatter, applying the language’s canonical formatting style automatically.
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