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sprintf FORMAT, LIST

Returns a string formatted by the usual printf() conventions of the C library function sprintf(). See sprintf(3) or printf(3) on your system for an explanation of the general principles.

Perl does its own sprintf() formatting -- it emulates the C function sprintf(), but it doesn't use it (except for floating-point numbers, and even then only the standard modifiers are allowed). As a result, any non-standard extensions in your local sprintf() are not available from Perl.

Perl's sprintf() permits the following universally-known conversions:

%%	a percent sign
%c	a character with the given number
%s	a string
%d	a signed integer, in decimal
%u	an unsigned integer, in decimal
%o	an unsigned integer, in octal
%x	an unsigned integer, in hexadecimal
%e	a floating-point number, in scientific notation
%f	a floating-point number, in fixed decimal notation
%g	a floating-point number, in %e or %f notation

In addition, Perl permits the following widely-supported conversions:

%X	like %x, but using upper-case letters
%E	like %e, but using an upper-case "E"
%G	like %g, but with an upper-case "E" (if applicable)
%p	a pointer (outputs the Perl value's address in hexadecimal)
%n	special: *stores* the number of characters output so far
     into the next variable in the parameter list

Finally, for backward (and we do mean "backward") compatibility, Perl permits these unnecessary but widely-supported conversions:

%i	a synonym for %d
%D	a synonym for %ld
%U	a synonym for %lu
%O	a synonym for %lo
%F	a synonym for %f

Perl permits the following universally-known flags between the % and the conversion letter:

space   prefix positive number with a space
+       prefix positive number with a plus sign
-       left-justify within the field
0       use zeros, not spaces, to right-justify
#       prefix non-zero octal with "0", non-zero hex with "0x"
number  minimum field width
.number "precision": digits after decimal point for
        floating-point, max length for string, minimum length
        for integer
l       interpret integer as C type "long" or "unsigned long"
h       interpret integer as C type "short" or "unsigned short"

There is also one Perl-specific flag:

V       interpret integer as Perl's standard integer type

Where a number would appear in the flags, an asterisk ("*") may be used instead, in which case Perl uses the next item in the parameter list as the given number (that is, as the field width or precision). If a field width obtained through "*" is negative, it has the same effect as the "-" flag: left-justification.

If use locale is in effect, the character used for the decimal point in formatted real numbers is affected by the LC_NUMERIC locale. See perllocale.