forms, numbers:
representing numeric values in US currency format

The name of the function is toUSCurrency. It takes a number or string as input and returns a new string representing the original input as US currency. I present it to you in an edit-box so that you can cut and paste it into your own JavaScript programs:

function toUSCurrency (input) { // Make sure input is a string: input += ""; // Keep original copy of input string: var original_input = input; // Strip leading dollar sign if necessary: if (input . charAt (0) == "$") input = input . substring (1, input . length); else if ( input . substring (0, 2) == "-$" || input . substring (0, 2) == "+$" ) input = input . charAt (0) + input . substring (2, input . length); // Get float value: var amount = parseFloat (input); // Return unmodified input if we weren't able to convert it: if (isNaN (amount)) return original_input; // Express amount in pennies, rounded to the nearest penny: amount = Math . round (100 * amount); // Prepare to add a US currency prefix: var prefix = "$"; if (amount < 0) { prefix = "-" + prefix; amount = - amount; } // Convert amount to string and pad with leading zeros if necessary: var string; if (amount < 10) string = "00" + amount; else if (amount < 100) string = "0" + amount; else string = "" + amount; // Insert prefix: string = prefix + string; // Insert decimal point before last two digits: string = string . substring (0, string . length - 2) + "." + string . substring (string . length - 2, string . length); // Return formatted currency string: return string; }

The following form is provided so that you can experiment with the toUSCurrency function and determine if it suits your needs.

Input: Output:

Output = toUSCurrency (Input);

Charlton Rose
April 16, 1997