Formatswith

formatswith is a general concept in software design that refers to applying a formatting specification to a data value. It is used to separate data from presentation by delegating formatting decisions to a dedicated operation, function, or middleware, rather than hardcoding formatting logic in the data source.

In typical implementations, formatswith involves two main inputs: the value to be formatted and a format specification. The specification may describe date or time patterns, numeric styles and locales, text transformations, or custom formatting rules. Some designs support additional options such as locale, padding, or alignment, allowing multiple aspects of presentation to be controlled in a single call. The result is a formatted representation of the original value that can be displayed or serialized.

Common use cases include formatting dates according to a given pattern, rendering numbers with locale-aware separators and currency symbols, or applying stylistic transformations to strings (such as case changes or padding) without altering the underlying data. In template engines and data-rendering pipelines, formatswith helps keep templates concise by centralizing formatting logic.

Formatswith is not a single standardized feature of any one language, but a recurring pattern found in many programming environments. It relates to broader topics such as string formatting, locale-aware rendering, and template design. See also: string formatting, locale, template engines, and data presentation.