Description

The C library function, This printf()function can be used to output any combination of numerical values, single characters and strings. Its purpose is to display data. Printf() move data from thee computer's memory to the standard output device.

Declaration

Following is the declaration for printf() function.

int printf(const char *format, ...);

Parameters

Format - C string that contains the text to be written to stdout.It can optionally contain embedded format specifiers that are replaced by the values specified in subsequent additional arguments and formatted as requested.

A format specifier follows this prototype:

%[flags][width][.precision][length]specifier 

Where the specifier character at the end is the most significant component, since it defines the type and the interpretation of its corresponding argument:

The format specifier can also contain sub-specifiers: flags, width, .precision and modifiers (in that order), which are optional and follow these specifications:

additional arguments - Format string refers to a string that contains formatting information, and arg1, arg2. are argument that represent the individual output data items. The control string can include a flag, Which affects the apperance of the output. The flag must be placed immediately afterr percent sign(%).

Return Value

The printf function returns the number of characters that was written. If an error occurs, it will return a negative value.

Example

#include<stdio.h>
#include<conio.h>
main()
{
	int i=123;
	float x=12.0,y=-3.3;
	int p=1234,q=01777,r=0xa08c;
	printf(":%6d %7.0f %10.1e:\n\n",i,x,y);
	printf(":%-6d %-7.0f %-10.1e:\n\n",i,x,y);
	printf(":%8u %8o %8x\n\n",p,q,r);
	printf(":%-8u %-8o %-8x\n\n",p,q,r);
}

Output

:  123  12  -3.3e+00;
:  123  12  -3.3e+00;
:  1234  1777  a08c;
:  1234  1777  a08c;