What is the special name given to the method that returns a string containing an objects state?

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Object.ToString Method

• Reference

Definition

In this article

Returns a string that represents the current object.

public:
 virtual System::String ^ ToString();

public virtual string ToString ();

public virtual string? ToString ();

abstract member ToString : unit -> string
override this.ToString : unit -> string

Public Overridable Function ToString () As String

Returns

A string that represents the current object.

Remarks

Object.ToString is the major formatting method in the .NET Framework. It converts an object to its string representation so that it is suitable for display. (For information about formatting support in the .NET Framework, see Formatting Types.) Default implementations of the Object.ToString method return the fully qualified name of the object's type.

Important

You may have reached this page by following the link from the member list of another type. That is because that type does not override Object.ToString. Instead, it inherits the functionality of the Object.ToString method.

Types frequently override the Object.ToString method to provide a more suitable string representation of a particular type. Types also frequently overload the Object.ToString method to provide support for format strings or culture-sensitive formatting.

In this section:

The default Object.ToString() method
Overriding the Object.ToString() method
Overloading the ToString method
Extending the Object.ToString method
Notes for the Windows Runtime

The default Object.ToString() method

The default implementation of the ToString method returns the fully qualified name of the type of the Object, as the following example shows.

using namespace System;

void main()
{
   Object^ obj = gcnew Object();
   Console::WriteLine(obj->ToString());
}
// The example displays the following output:
//      System.Object

Object obj = new Object();
Console.WriteLine(obj.ToString());

// The example displays the following output:
//      System.Object

let obj = obj ()
printfn $"{obj.ToString()}"
// printfn $"{obj}" // Equivalent

// The example displays the following output:
//      System.Object

Module Example
   Public Sub Main()
      Dim obj As New Object()
      Console.WriteLine(obj.ToString())
   End Sub
End Module
' The example displays the following output:
'      System.Object

Because Object is the base class of all reference types in the .NET Framework, this behavior is inherited by reference types that do not override the ToString method. The following example illustrates this. It defines a class named Object1 that accepts the default implementation of all Object members. Its ToString method returns the object's fully qualified type name.

using namespace System;

namespace Examples
{
   ref class Object1
   {
   };
}

void main()
{
   Object^ obj1 = gcnew Examples::Object1();
   Console::WriteLine(obj1->ToString());
}
// The example displays the following output:
//   Examples.Object1

using System;
using Examples;

namespace Examples
{
   public class Object1
   {
   }
}

public class Example
{
   public static void Main()
   {
      object obj1 = new Object1();
      Console.WriteLine(obj1.ToString());
   }
}
// The example displays the following output:
//   Examples.Object1

type Object1() = class end

let obj1 = Object1()
printfn $"{obj1.ToString()}"
// The example displays the following output:
//   Examples.Object1

Imports Examples

Namespace Examples
   Public Class Object1
   End Class
End Namespace

Module Example
   Public Sub Main()
      Dim obj1 As New Object1()
      Console.WriteLine(obj1.ToString())
   End Sub
End Module
' The example displays the following output:
'   Examples.Object1

Overriding the Object.ToString() method

Types commonly override the Object.ToString method to return a string that represents the object instance. For example, the base types such as Char, Int32, and String provide ToString implementations that return the string form of the value that the object represents. The following example defines a class, Object2, that overrides the ToString method to return the type name along with its value.

using namespace System;

ref class Object2
{
   private:
      Object^ value;

   public:
      Object2(Object^ value)
      {
         this->value = value;
      }

      virtual String^ ToString() override
      {
         return Object::ToString() + ": " + value->ToString();
      }
};

void main()
{
   Object2^ obj2 = gcnew Object2(L'a');
   Console::WriteLine(obj2->ToString());
 
}
// The example displays the following output:
//       Object2: a

using System;

public class Object2
{
   private object value;

   public Object2(object value)
   {
      this.value = value;
   }

   public override string ToString()
   {
      return base.ToString() + ": " + value.ToString();
   }
}

public class Example
{
   public static void Main()
   {
      Object2 obj2 = new Object2('a');
      Console.WriteLine(obj2.ToString());
   }
}
// The example displays the following output:
//       Object2: a

type Object2(value: obj) =
    inherit obj ()
    override _.ToString() =
        base.ToString() + ": " + value.ToString()

let obj2 = Object2 'a'
printfn $"{obj2.ToString()}"
// The example displays the following output:
//       Object2: a

Public Class Object2
   Private value As Object
   
   Public Sub New(value As Object)
      Me.value = value
   End Sub
   
   Public Overrides Function ToString() As String
      Return MyBase.ToString + ": " + value.ToString()
   End Function
End Class

Module Example
   Public Sub Main()
      Dim obj2 As New Object2("a"c)
      Console.WriteLine(obj2.ToString())
   End Sub
End Module
' The example displays the following output:
'       Object2: a

The following table lists the type categories in .NET and indicates whether or not they override the Object.ToString method.

See the Notes to Inheritors section for additional information on overriding ToString.

Overloading the ToString method

In addition to overriding the parameterless Object.ToString() method, many types overload the ToString method to provide versions of the method that accept parameters. Most commonly, this is done to provide support for variable formatting and culture-sensitive formatting.

The following example overloads the ToString method to return a result string that includes the value of various fields of an Automobile class. It defines four format strings: G, which returns the model name and year; D, which returns the model name, year, and number of doors; C, which returns the model name, year, and number of cylinders; and A, which returns a string with all four field values.

using System;

public class Automobile
{
   private int _doors;
   private string _cylinders;
   private int _year;
   private string _model;

   public Automobile(string model, int year , int doors,
                     string cylinders)
   {
      _model = model;
      _year = year;
      _doors = doors;
      _cylinders = cylinders;
   }

   public int Doors
   { get { return _doors; } }

   public string Model
   { get { return _model; } }

   public int Year
   { get { return _year; } }

   public string Cylinders
   { get { return _cylinders; } }

   public override string ToString()
   {
      return ToString("G");
   }

   public string ToString(string fmt)
   {
      if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(fmt))
         fmt = "G";

      switch (fmt.ToUpperInvariant())
      {
         case "G":
            return string.Format("{0} {1}", _year, _model);
         case "D":
            return string.Format("{0} {1}, {2} dr.",
                                 _year, _model, _doors);
         case "C":
            return string.Format("{0} {1}, {2}",
                                 _year, _model, _cylinders);
         case "A":
            return string.Format("{0} {1}, {2} dr. {3}",
                                 _year, _model, _doors, _cylinders);
         default:
            string msg = string.Format("'{0}' is an invalid format string",
                                       fmt);
            throw new ArgumentException(msg);
      }
   }
}

public class Example
{
   public static void Main()
   {
      var auto = new Automobile("Lynx", 2016, 4, "V8");
      Console.WriteLine(auto.ToString());
      Console.WriteLine(auto.ToString("A"));
   }
}
// The example displays the following output:
//       2016 Lynx
//       2016 Lynx, 4 dr. V8

open System

type Automobile(model: string, year: int, doors: int, cylinders: string) =
    member _.Doors = doors
    member _.Model = model
    member _.Year = year
    member _.Cylinders = cylinders

    override this.ToString() =
        this.ToString "G"

    member _.ToString(fmt) =
        let fmt = 
            if String.IsNullOrEmpty fmt then "G"
            else fmt.ToUpperInvariant()

        match fmt with
        | "G" ->
            $"{year} {model}"
        | "D" ->
            $"{year} {model}, {doors} dr."
        | "C" ->
            $"{year} {model}, {cylinders}"
        | "A" ->
            $"{year} {model}, {doors} dr. {cylinders}"
        | _ ->
            raise (ArgumentException $"'{fmt}' is an invalid format string")

let auto = Automobile("Lynx", 2016, 4, "V8")
printfn $"{auto}"
printfn $"""{auto.ToString "A"}"""
// The example displays the following output:
//       2016 Lynx
//       2016 Lynx, 4 dr. V8

Public Class Automobile
   Private _doors As Integer
   Private _cylinders As String
   Private _year As Integer
   Private _model As String
   
   Public Sub New(model As String, year As Integer, doors As Integer,
                  cylinders As String)
      _model = model
      _year = year
      _doors = doors
      _cylinders = cylinders
   End Sub
   
   Public ReadOnly Property Doors As Integer
      Get
          Return _doors
      End Get
   End Property
   
   Public ReadOnly Property Model As String
      Get
         Return _model
      End Get
   End Property
   
   Public ReadOnly Property Year As Integer
      Get
         Return _year
      End Get
   End Property
   
   Public ReadOnly Property Cylinders As String
      Get
         Return _cylinders
      End Get
   End Property
   
   Public Overrides Function ToString() As String
      Return ToString("G")
   End Function
   
   Public Overloads Function ToString(fmt As String) As String
      If String.IsNullOrEmpty(fmt) Then fmt = "G"
      
      Select Case fmt.ToUpperInvariant()
         Case "G"
            Return String.Format("{0} {1}", _year, _model)
         Case "D"
            Return String.Format("{0} {1}, {2} dr.",
                                 _year, _model, _doors)
         Case "C"
            Return String.Format("{0} {1}, {2}",
                                 _year, _model, _cylinders)
         Case "A"
            Return String.Format("{0} {1}, {2} dr. {3}",
                                 _year, _model, _doors, _cylinders)
         Case Else
            Dim msg As String = String.Format("'{0}' is an invalid format string",
                                              fmt)
            Throw New ArgumentException(msg)
      End Select
   End Function
End Class

Module Example
   Public Sub Main()
      Dim auto As New Automobile("Lynx", 2016, 4, "V8")
      Console.WriteLine(auto.ToString())
      Console.WriteLine(auto.ToString("A"))
   End Sub
End Module
' The example displays the following output:
'       2016 Lynx
'       2016 Lynx, 4 dr. V8

The following example calls the overloaded Decimal.ToString(String, IFormatProvider) method to display culture-sensitive formatting of a currency value.

using System;
using System.Globalization;

public class Example
{
   public static void Main()
   {
      string[] cultureNames = { "en-US", "en-GB", "fr-FR",
                                "hr-HR", "ja-JP" };
      Decimal value = 1603.49m;
      foreach (var cultureName in cultureNames) {
         CultureInfo culture = new CultureInfo(cultureName);
         Console.WriteLine("{0}: {1}", culture.Name,
                           value.ToString("C2", culture));
      }
   }
}
// The example displays the following output:
//       en-US: $1,603.49
//       en-GB: £1,603.49
//       fr-FR: 1 603,49 €
//       hr-HR: 1.603,49 kn
//       ja-JP: ¥1,603.49

open System.Globalization

let cultureNames =
    [| "en-US"; "en-GB"; "fr-FR"; "hr-HR"; "ja-JP" |]
let value = 1603.49m
for cultureName in cultureNames do
    let culture = CultureInfo cultureName
    printfn $"""{culture.Name}: {value.ToString("C2", culture)}"""
// The example displays the following output:
//       en-US: $1,603.49
//       en-GB: £1,603.49
//       fr-FR: 1 603,49 €
//       hr-HR: 1.603,49 kn
//       ja-JP: ¥1,603.49

Imports System.Globalization

Module Example
   Public Sub Main()
      Dim cultureNames() As String = { "en-US", "en-GB", "fr-FR",
                                       "hr-HR", "ja-JP" }
      Dim value As Decimal = 1603.49d
      For Each cultureName In cultureNames
         Dim culture As New CultureInfo(cultureName)
         Console.WriteLine("{0}: {1}", culture.Name,
                           value.ToString("C2", culture))
      Next
   End Sub
End Module
' The example displays the following output:
'       en-US: $1,603.49
'       en-GB: £1,603.49
'       fr-FR: 1 603,49 €
'       hr-HR: 1.603,49 kn
'       ja-JP: ¥1,603.49

For more information on format strings and culture-sensitive formatting, see Formatting Types. For the format strings supported by numeric values, see Standard Numeric Format Strings and Custom Numeric Format Strings. For the format strings supported by date and time values, see Standard Date and Time Format Strings and Custom Date and Time Format Strings.

Extending the Object.ToString method

Because a type inherits the default Object.ToString method, you may find its behavior undesirable and want to change it. This is particularly true of arrays and collection classes. While you may expect the ToString method of an array or collection class to display the values of its members, it instead displays the type fully qualified type name, as the following example shows.

int[] values = { 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128 };
Console.WriteLine(values.ToString());

List<int> list = new List<int>(values);
Console.WriteLine(list.ToString());

// The example displays the following output:
//       System.Int32[]
//       System.Collections.Generic.List`1[System.Int32]

let values = [| 1; 2; 4; 8; 16; 32; 64; 128 |]
printfn $"{values}"

let list = ResizeArray values
printfn $"{list}"

// The example displays the following output:
//       System.Int32[]
//       System.Collections.Generic.List`1[System.Int32]

Imports System.Collections.Generic

Module Example
   Public Sub Main()
      Dim values() As Integer = { 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128 }
      Console.WriteLine(values.ToString())
      
      Dim list As New List(Of Integer)(values)
      Console.WriteLine(list.ToString())
   End Sub
End Module
' The example displays the following output:
'    System.Int32[]
'    System.Collections.Generic.List`1[System.Int32]

You have several options to produce the result string that you'd like.

• If the type is an array, a collection object, or an object that implements the IEnumerable or IEnumerable<T> interfaces, you can enumerate its elements by using the foreach statement in C# or the For Each...Next construct in Visual Basic.

• If the class is not sealed (in C#) or NotInheritable (in Visual Basic), you can develop a wrapper class that inherits from the base class whose Object.ToString method you want to customize. At a minimum, this requires that you do the following:

  1. Implement any necessary constructors. Derived classes do not inherit their base class constructors.

  2. Override the Object.ToString method to return the result string that you'd like.

  The following example defines a wrapper class for the List<T> class. It overrides the Object.ToString method to display the value of each method of the collection rather than the fully qualified type name.

  using System;
  using System.Collections.Generic;
  
  public class CList<T> : List<T>
  {
     public CList(IEnumerable<T> collection) : base(collection)
     { }
  
     public CList() : base()
     {}
  
     public override string ToString()
     {
        string retVal = string.Empty;
        foreach (T item in this) {
           if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(retVal))
              retVal += item.ToString();
           else
              retVal += string.Format(", {0}", item);
        }
        return retVal;
     }
  }
  
  public class Example
  {
     public static void Main()
     {
        var list2 = new CList<int>();
        list2.Add(1000);
        list2.Add(2000);
        Console.WriteLine(list2.ToString());
     }
  }
  // The example displays the following output:
  //    1000, 2000
  

  open System
  open System.Collections.Generic
  
  type CList<'T>() = 
      inherit ResizeArray<'T>()
      
      override this.ToString() =
          let mutable retVal = String.Empty
          for item in this do
              if String.IsNullOrEmpty retVal then
                  retVal <- retVal + string item
              else
                  retVal <- retVal + $", {item}"
          retVal
  
  let list2 = CList()
  list2.Add 1000
  list2.Add 2000
  printfn $"{list2}"
  // The example displays the following output:
  //    1000, 2000
  

  Imports System.Collections.Generic
  
  Public Class CList(Of T) : Inherits List(Of T)
     Public Sub New(capacity As Integer)
        MyBase.New(capacity)
     End Sub
  
     Public Sub New(collection As IEnumerable(Of T))
        MyBase.New(collection)
     End Sub
  
     Public Sub New()
        MyBase.New()
     End Sub
  
     Public Overrides Function ToString() As String
        Dim retVal As String = String.Empty
        For Each item As T In Me
           If String.IsNullOrEmpty(retval) Then
              retVal += item.ToString()
           Else
              retval += String.Format(", {0}", item)
           End If
        Next
        Return retVal
     End Function
  End Class
  
  Module Example
     Public Sub Main()
        Dim list2 As New CList(Of Integer)
        list2.Add(1000)
        list2.Add(2000)
        Console.WriteLine(list2.ToString())
     End Sub
  End Module
  ' The example displays the following output:
  '       1000, 2000
  

• Develop an extension method that returns the result string that you want. Note that you can't override the default Object.ToString method in this way (that is, your extension class (in C#) or module (in Visual Basic) cannot have a parameterless method named ToString that is called in place of the original type's ToString method. You'll have to provide some other name for your parameterless ToString replacement.

  The following example defines two methods that extend the List<T> class: a parameterless ToString2 method, and a ToString method with a String parameter that represents a format string.

  using System;
  using System.Collections.Generic;
  
  public static class StringExtensions
  {
     public static string ToString2<T>(this List<T> l)
     {
        string retVal = string.Empty;
        foreach (T item in l)
           retVal += string.Format("{0}{1}", string.IsNullOrEmpty(retVal) ?
                                                       "" : ", ",
                                    item);
        return string.IsNullOrEmpty(retVal) ? "{}" : "{ " + retVal + " }";
     }
  
     public static string ToString<T>(this List<T> l, string fmt)
     {
        string retVal = string.Empty;
        foreach (T item in l) {
           IFormattable ifmt = item as IFormattable;
           if (ifmt != null)
              retVal += string.Format("{0}{1}",
                                      string.IsNullOrEmpty(retVal) ?
                                         "" : ", ", ifmt.ToString(fmt, null));
           else
              retVal += ToString2(l);
        }
        return string.IsNullOrEmpty(retVal) ? "{}" : "{ " + retVal + " }";
     }
  }
  
  public class Example
  {
     public static void Main()
     {
        List<int> list = new List<int>();
        list.Add(1000);
        list.Add(2000);
        Console.WriteLine(list.ToString2());
        Console.WriteLine(list.ToString("N0"));
     }
  }
  // The example displays the following output:
  //       { 1000, 2000 }
  //       { 1,000, 2,000 }
  

  open System
  open System.Collections.Generic
  
  type List<'T> with
      member this.ToString2<'T>() = 
          let mutable retVal = String.Empty
          for item in this do
             retVal <- retVal + $"""{if String.IsNullOrEmpty retVal then "" else ", "}{item}"""
          if String.IsNullOrEmpty retVal then "{}" else "{ " + retVal + " }"
  
      member this.ToString<'T>(fmt: string) =
          let mutable retVal = String.Empty
          for item in this do
              match box item with
              | :? IFormattable as ifmt ->
                  retVal <- retVal + $"""{if String.IsNullOrEmpty retVal then "" else ", "}{ifmt.ToString(fmt, null)}"""
              | _ ->
                  retVal <- retVal + this.ToString2()
          if String.IsNullOrEmpty retVal then "{}" else "{ " + retVal + " }"
  
  let list = ResizeArray()
  list.Add 1000
  list.Add 2000
  printfn $"{list.ToString2()}"
  printfn $"""{list.ToString "N0"}"""
  // The example displays the following output:
  //       { 1000, 2000 }
  //       { 1,000, 2,000 }
  

  Imports System.Collections.Generic
  Imports System.Runtime.CompilerServices
  
  Public Module StringExtensions
     <Extension()>
     Public Function ToString2(Of T)(l As List(Of T)) As String
        Dim retVal As String = ""
        For Each item As T In l
           retVal += String.Format("{0}{1}", If(String.IsNullOrEmpty(retVal),
                                                       "", ", "),
                                    item)
        Next
        Return If(String.IsNullOrEmpty(retVal), "{}", "{ " + retVal + " }")
     End Function
  
     <Extension()>
     Public Function ToString(Of T)(l As List(Of T), fmt As String) As String
        Dim retVal As String = String.Empty
        For Each item In l
           Dim ifmt As IFormattable = TryCast(item, IFormattable)
           If ifmt IsNot Nothing Then
              retVal += String.Format("{0}{1}",
                                      If(String.IsNullOrEmpty(retval),
                                         "", ", "), ifmt.ToString(fmt, Nothing))
           Else
              retVal += ToString2(l)
           End If
        Next
        Return If(String.IsNullOrEmpty(retVal), "{}", "{ " + retVal + " }")
     End Function
  End Module
  
  Module Example
     Public Sub Main()
        Dim list As New List(Of Integer)
        list.Add(1000)
        list.Add(2000)
        Console.WriteLine(list.ToString2())
        Console.WriteLine(list.ToString("N0"))
     End Sub
  End Module
  ' The example displays the following output:
  '       { 1000, 2000 }
  '       { 1,000, 2,000 }
  

Notes for the Windows Runtime

When you call the ToString method on a class in the Windows Runtime, it provides the default behavior for classes that don't override ToString. This is part of the support that the .NET Framework provides for the Windows Runtime (see .NET Framework Support for Windows Store Apps and Windows Runtime). Classes in the Windows Runtime don't inherit Object, and don't always implement a ToString. However, they always appear to have ToString, Equals(Object), and GetHashCode methods when you use them in your C# or Visual Basic code, and the .NET Framework provides a default behavior for these methods.

Starting with .NET Framework 4.5.1, the common language runtime uses IStringable.ToString on a Windows Runtime object before falling back to the default implementation of Object.ToString.

Note

Windows Runtime classes that are written in C# or Visual Basic can override the ToString method.

The Windows Runtime and the IStringable Interface

Starting with Windows 8.1, the Windows Runtime includes an IStringable interface whose single method, IStringable.ToString, provides basic formatting support comparable to that provided by Object.ToString. To prevent ambiguity, you should not implement IStringable on managed types.

When managed objects are called by native code or by code written in languages such as JavaScript or C++/CX, they appear to implement IStringable. The common language runtime automatically routes calls from IStringable.ToString to Object.ToString if IStringable is not implemented on the managed object.

Warning

Because the common language runtime auto-implements IStringable for all managed types in Windows Store apps, we recommend that you do not provide your own IStringable implementation. Implementing IStringable may result in unintended behavior when calling ToString from the Windows Runtime, C++/CX, or JavaScript.

If you do choose to implement IStringable in a public managed type that's exported in a Windows Runtime component, the following restrictions apply:

• You can define the IStringable interface only in a "class implements" relationship, as follows:

  public class NewClass : IStringable
  

  Public Class NewClass : Implements IStringable
  

• You cannot implement IStringable on an interface.

• You cannot declare a parameter to be of type IStringable.

• IStringable cannot be the return type of a method, property, or field.

• You cannot hide your IStringable implementation from base classes by using a method definition such as the following:

  
  public class NewClass : IStringable  
  {  
     public new string ToString()  
     {  
        return "New ToString in NewClass";  
     }  
  }  
  
  

  Instead, the IStringable.ToString implementation must always override the base class implementation. You can hide a ToString implementation only by invoking it on a strongly typed class instance.

Note that under a variety of conditions, calls from native code to a managed type that implements IStringable or hides its ToString implementation can produce unexpected behavior.

Notes to Inheritors

When you implement your own types, you should override the ToString() method to return values that are meaningful for those types. Derived classes that require more control over formatting than ToString() provides can implement the IFormattable interface. Its ToString(String, IFormatProvider) method enables you to define format strings that control formatting and to use an IFormatProvider object that can provide for culture-specific formatting.

Overrides of the ToString() method should follow these guidelines:

• The returned string should be friendly and readable by humans.

• The returned string should uniquely identify the value of the object instance.

• The returned string should be as short as possible so that it is suitable for display by a debugger.

• Your ToString() override should not return Empty or a null string.

• Your ToString() override should not throw an exception.

• If the string representation of an instance is culture-sensitive or can be formatted in multiple ways, implement the IFormattable interface.

• If the returned string includes sensitive information, you should first demand an appropriate permission. If the demand succeeds, you can return the sensitive information; otherwise, you should return a string that excludes the sensitive information.

• Your ToString() override should have no observable side effects to avoid complications in debugging. For example, a call to the ToString() method should not change the value of instance fields.

• If your type implements a parsing method (or Parse or TryParse method, a constructor, or some other static method that instantiates an instance of the type from a string), you should ensure that the string returned by the ToString() method can be converted to an object instance.

Applies to

See also

• Formatting Types in .NET

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