printf man page on DigitalUNIX

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printf(1)							     printf(1)

NAME
       printf - Writes formatted output

SYNOPSIS
       printf format [argument...]

STANDARDS
       Interfaces  documented on this reference page conform to industry stan‐
       dards as follows:

       printf:	XCU5.0

       Refer to the standards(5) reference page	 for  more  information	 about
       industry standards and associated tags.

OPTIONS
       None

OPERANDS
       A  string  describing  the manner of writing the output. This string is
       explained in the DESCRIPTION section.  The strings to be written	 under
       the control of the format.  These strings are explained in the DESCRIP‐
       TION section.

DESCRIPTION
       The printf command converts, formats, and writes its arguments  to  the
       standard output. The values specified by the argument variable are for‐
       matted under control of the format variable.

   Syntax of the argument Variable
       The argument variable is a list of one or more strings to be written to
       the  standard  output  under the control of the format variable.	 These
       are treated as strings if the corresponding conversion character is  b,
       c, or s; otherwise, it is evaluated as a C constant, with the following
       extensions:

       A leading + (plus sign) or - (minus sign) is allowed.

       If the leading character is a ' (single quote) or " (double quote), the
       value  is the numeric value in the underlying code set of the character
       following the single quote or double quote.

   Syntax of the format Variable
       The format variable is a character string that contains three types  of
       objects:	 Plain	characters  that are copied to the output stream.  The
       following escape sequences are both copied to  the  output  stream  and
       cause  the associated action to occur on display devices that are capa‐
       ble of the action.  Backslash Alert Backspace Formfeed Newline Carriage
       Return Tab Vertical Tab Where ddd is a one-, two-, or three-digit octal
       number.	These escape sequences	are  displayed	as  a  byte  with  the
       numeric	value specified by the octal number.  A delta character in the
       format string is treated as a delta character, rather than as  a	 space
       character.

       The  format  variable  is  reused  as often as necessary to satisfy the
       arguments. Any extra c or s conversion specifications are evaluated  as
       if  a null string argument were supplied; other extra conversion speci‐
       fications are evaluated as if a zero argument were supplied.

       Each conversion specification in the format variable has the  following
       syntax:	A  %  (percent	sign).	Zero or more options, which modify the
       meaning of the conversion specification.	  The  option  characters  and
       their  meanings	are  as	 follows: The result of the conversion is left
       aligned within the field.  The result of	 a  signed  conversion	always
       begins  with  a	+  (plus)  or  - (minus).  If the first character of a
       signed conversion is not a sign, a blank is prefixed to the result.  If
       both  the blank and + options appear, then the blank option is ignored.
       The value is converted to an alternative form.  For c, d, i, u,	and  s
       conversions,  the  option has no effect. For o conversion, it increases
       the precision to force the first digit of the result to be a 0  (zero).
       For x and X conversions, a nonzero result has 0x, or 0X prefixed to it,
       respectively.  For e, E, f, g, and G  conversions,  the	result	always
       contains	 a radix character, even if no digits follow the radix charac‐
       ter. For g and G conversions, trailing zeros are not removed  from  the
       result  as  they	 usually are.  For d, i, o, u, x, X, e, E, f, g, and G
       conversions, leading zeros (following any indication of sign  or	 base)
       are  used to pad to the field width, no space padding is performed.  If
       the 0 (zero) and - options appear, the 0 (zero) option is ignored.  For
       d,  i,  o,  u, x, and X conversions, if a precision is specified, the 0
       (zero) option is ignored.  An optional decimal digit string that speci‐
       fies  the minimum field width. If the converted value has fewer charac‐
       ters than the field width, the field is	padded	on  the	 left  to  the
       length  specified  by  the  field width.	 If the left-adjustment option
       flag (-) is specified, the field is padded on the right.	  An  optional
       precision.  The	precision is a (dot) followed by an asterisk (*), or a
       decimal digit string. If no precision is given,	it  is	treated	 as  0
       (zero).	 The  precision	 specifies:  The  minimum  number of digits to
       appear for the d, o, i, u, x, or X conversions.	The number  of	digits
       to  appear  after the radix character for the e and f conversions.  The
       maximum number of significant digits for the g conversion.  The maximum
       number  of  bytes  to  be printed from a string in the s conversion.  A
       character that indicates the type of conversion to be applied, as  fol‐
       lows:  Performs	no  conversion.	 Prints a % (percent sign).  Accepts a
       value as a string that may contain  backslash-escape  sequences.	 Bytes
       from  the  converted  string are printed until the end of the string or
       number of bytes indicated by the precision  specification  is  reached.
       If  the	precision is omitted, all bytes until the first null character
       are printed.

	      The following  backslash-escape  sequences  are  supported:  The
	      \Oddd  sequence, where ddd is a one-, two-, or three-digit octal
	      number that is converted to a byte with the numeric value speci‐
	      fied  by	the  octal  number.   The  escape sequences previously
	      listed under the description of the format variable.  These  are
	      converted to the individual characters they represented.	The \c
	      sequence, which is not displayed and causes the  printf  command
	      to  ignore any remaining characters in the string parameter con‐
	      taining it, any remaining string parameters, and any  additional
	      characters  in  the format variable.  Prints the first character
	      of the argument.	Accepts an integer value and converts it to  a
	      signed  decimal  notation	 in  the style [-]dddd.	 The precision
	      specifies the minimum number of digits to appear. If  the	 value
	      being  converted	can  be	 represented  in  fewer	 digits, it is
	      expanded with leading zeros. The default	precision  is  1.  The
	      result  of  converting  a	 0  (zero) value with a precision of 0
	      (zero) is a null string. Specifying  a  field  width  with  a  0
	      (zero) as a leading character causes the field to be padded with
	      leading zeros.  Accepts a float or double value and converts  it
	      to  the  exponential  form  [-] d.dde +|- dd. There is one digit
	      before the radix character (shown here as	 the  decimal  point),
	      and  the	number of digits after the radix character is equal to
	      the precision  specification.  The  LC_NUMERIC  locale  category
	      determines the radix character to use in this format. If no pre‐
	      cision is specified, then six digits are output. If  the	preci‐
	      sion  is	0 (zero), then no radix character appears.  The E con‐
	      version character produces a number with E instead of  e	before
	      the  exponent. The exponent always contains at least two digits.
	      However, if the value to be printed requires an exponent greater
	      than  two digits, additional exponent digits are printed as nec‐
	      essary.  Accepts a float or double value and converts it to dec‐
	      imal  notation  in the format [-] ddd.ddd.  The number of digits
	      after the radix character (shown here as the decimal  point)  is
	      equal to the precision specification. The LC_NUMERIC locale cat‐
	      egory determines the radix character to use in this  format.  If
	      no  precision  is	 specified, then six digits are output. If the
	      precision is 0 (zero), then no radix character appears.  Accepts
	      a float or double value and converts it in the style of the f or
	      e conversion characters (or E in the case of the G  conversion),
	      with  the precision specifying the number of significant digits.
	      Trailing zeros are removed from the result.  A  radix  character
	      appears  only  if	 it  is	 followed  by  a digit. The style used
	      depends on the value converted. Style  g	results	 only  if  the
	      exponent resulting from the conversion is less than -4, or if it
	      is greater than or equal to the precision.  Accepts  an  integer
	      value and converts it to unsigned octal notation.	 The precision
	      specifies the minimum number of digits to appear.	 If the	 value
	      being  converted	can  be	 represented  in  fewer	 digits, it is
	      expanded with leading zeros. The default	precision  is  1.  The
	      result  of  converting  a	 0  (zero) value with a precision of 0
	      (zero) is a null string. Specifying  a  field  width  with  a  0
	      (zero) as a leading character causes the field width value to be
	      padded with leading zeros.  An octal value for  field  width  is
	      not  implied.   Accepts  a value as a string, and bytes from the
	      string are printed until the end of the string is encountered or
	      the number of bytes indicated by the precision is reached. If no
	      precision is specified, all characters  up  to  the  first  null
	      character are printed.  Accepts an integer value and converts it
	      to unsigned decimal notation. The precision specifies the	 mini‐
	      mum  number  of  digits to appear.  If the value being converted
	      can be represented in fewer digits, it is expanded with  leading
	      zeros.  The default precision is 1. The result of converting a 0
	      (zero) value with a precision of 0  (zero)  is  a	 null  string.
	      Specifying  a field width with a 0 (zero) as a leading character
	      causes the field width value to be padded	 with  leading	zeros.
	      Accepts an integer value and converts it to unsigned hexadecimal
	      notation. The letters abcdef are used for the x  conversion  and
	      the  letters ABCDEF are used for the X conversion. The precision
	      specifies the minimum number of digits to appear. If  the	 value
	      being  converted	can  be	 represented  in  fewer	 digits, it is
	      expanded with leading zeros. The default	precision  is  1.  The
	      result  of  converting  a	 0  (zero) value with a precision of 0
	      (zero) is a null string. Specifying  a  field  width  with  a  0
	      (zero) as a leading character causes the field width value to be
	      padded with leading zeros.

       If the result of a conversion is wider than the field width, the	 field
       is  expanded  to	 contain  the  converted result. No truncation occurs.
       However, a small precision may cause truncation on the right.

EXAMPLES
       The following printf  command  formats  a  series  of  numbers:	printf
       "%5d%4d\n" 1 21 321 4321 54321

	      This command produces the following output:
		  1  21
		3214321 54321	0

	      The  format  variable  is	 used  three times to print all of the
	      given strings. The 0 (zero) is supplied by the printf command to
	      satisfy  the  last  %4d conversion specification.	 The following
	      script includes printf commands to alert the user (sound a beep)
	      and  to  display	prompts	 for entering a name and phone number.
	      The script then appends the user entries to a file.

	      printf "\aPlease fill in the  following:	\nName:	 "  read  name
	      printf  "Phone  number:  "  read phone echo $name "  " $phone >>
	      phone_list echo  >> phone_list

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
       The following environment variables affect  the	execution  of  printf:
       Provides	 a  default  value for the internationalization variables that
       are unset or null. If LANG is unset or null,  the  corresponding	 value
       from  the  default  locale is used.  If any of the internationalization
       variables contain an invalid setting, the utility behaves as if none of
       the  variables  had  been defined.  If set to a non-empty string value,
       overrides the values of all the other  internationalization  variables.
       Determines  the	locale for the interpretation of sequences of bytes of
       text data as characters (for example, single-byte as opposed to	multi‐
       byte  characters	 in  arguments).  Determines the locale for the format
       and contents of diagnostic messages written to standard error.	Deter‐
       mines  the location of message catalogues for the processing of LC_MES‐
       SAGES.  Determines the locale for numbers written using the e, E, f, g,
       or G conversion characters.

SEE ALSO
       Commands:  awk(1), bc(1), echo(1), read(1)

       Functions:  printf(3)

       Standards:  standards(5)

								     printf(1)
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