What is the difference between .toString("F") and .toString("G") in C# .NET?

Question

According to .NET documentation:

decimal value = 16325.62m;
string specifier;

// Use standard numeric format specifiers.
specifier = "G";
Console.WriteLine("{0}: {1}", specifier, value.ToString(specifier));
// Displays:    G: 16325.62


specifier = "F";
Console.WriteLine("{0}: {1}", specifier, value.ToString(specifier));
// Displays:    F: 16325.62

What is the difference between "F" and "G"? Are there any circumstances in which these would produce different results?

Answer 1

"F" (Fixed-Point Format): This specifier formats a numeric value using fixed-point notation. When you use "F" with ToString() on a decimal value like 16325.62m, it retains the specified number of decimal places. For instance, if you use "F2", it will display two decimal places, like 16325.62.

"G" (General Format): This specifier automatically chooses the format based on the value. For decimal numbers, "G" retains as many significant digits as required to uniquely identify the number, and it does not add trailing zeros after the decimal point.

In your example, when you use "F" or "G" with ToString() on the decimal value 16325.62m, both produce the same result because the number of significant digits is such that they both display the same output: 16325.62.