PHP String Formatting
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Basic printf Output
printf() builds a formatted string using placeholders — %s for a string, %d for an integer — and prints the result immediately once every placeholder has been filled in with the corresponding argument's value.
Example: Basic printf Output
<?php
printf("Name: %s, Age: %d", "Alice", 30);
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Returning Formatted Strings
sprintf() uses the exact same placeholder syntax as printf(), but instead of printing the result right away, it returns the formatted string as a value — letting you store it, pass it to another function, or build it up before deciding whether to output it at all.
Example: Returning Formatted Strings
<?php
$formatted = sprintf("Name: %s, Age: %d", "Alice", 30);
echo $formatted;
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Formatting Decimals
A format specifier like %.2f controls exactly how many digits appear after the decimal point when formatting a float — %.2f on 3.14159 produces '3.14', rounding to two decimal places rather than truncating or printing the full precision.
Example: Formatting Decimals
<?php
printf("%.2f", 3.14159);
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Using number_format
number_format() is purpose-built for displaying money and other large numbers: it inserts thousands separators automatically and lets you specify a fixed decimal precision, turning 1234567.891 into a reader-friendly '1,234,567.89' in one call.
Example: Using number_format
<?php
echo number_format(1234567.891, 2);
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Padding Strings with sprintf
sprintf()'s width specifiers (like %10s) pad a value out to a fixed total width, right- or left-aligning it as needed. That fixed-width alignment is exactly what you need when printing tabular data that has to line up visually in evenly spaced columns.
Example: Padding Strings with sprintf
<?php
printf("[%10s]\n", "hi");
printf("[%-10s]", "hi");
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