Programming instructions

18 Chapter 2 CFML Basics

The DollarFormat function returns a value as a string and formats that value with two

decimal places, thousand separator, and dollar sign. The pounds signs (#) around the

function instruct ColdFusion to evaluate the content between the pound signs and

display the value.

Functions and parentheses

All functions have parentheses, regardless of whether the function acts on data. Consider

the following function:

#Now()#

If you put anything inside the parentheses of the Now() function, an error would occur.

The

Now() function returns an unformatted date and time. However, you can format the

results of this function with other functions, such as the

DateFormat() or

TimeFormat() functions.

Nesting functions

Functions can generate data as well as act on data. Consider the following example:

#DateFormat(Now(), "mm/dd/yyyy")#

In this example, the Now() function generates the date, and then the DateFormat

function formats the date.

Functions and pound signs

You use pound signs (#) with functions to display the results of a function on the page.

Pound signs tell the ColdFusion server to evaluate the content between the pound signs

and display the value, for example:

Hello world, <br>

Today’s date is #DateFormat(Now(), "mm/dd/yyyy")#

</cfoutput>

The following figure shows the output of this example: