Question:
In php, I know we can fill a number with zeros through printf
Example:
printf('%04s', 4); // Imprime: "0004"
How could I do this in Python ?
When I try to do it the way above, the result is not what I expected:
print '%04s' % 4; #Imprime: \t\t\t\t4
Answer:
You can use the method that @WallaceMaxters demonstrated:
>>> print '%05d' % 4
'00004'
Another possibility is to use the zfill method of the str class, str.zfill , but for that you'll need the input to be a string, as this method simply fills strings up to the length specified in the width parameter:
>>> print '4'.zfill(5)
'00004'
>>> print str(4).zfill(5)
'00004'
>>> print 'xpto'.zfill(5)
0xpto
Or finally, use the formatting method of the str class, str.format . See some examples:
>>> print '{:0>5}'.format(4)
'00004'
>>> print '{:0<5}'.format(4)
'40000'
>>> print '{:0^5}'.format(4)
'00400'
A more complete example to give you an idea of what format can do:
>>> pessoa = {"nome": "Fernando", "usuario": "fgmacedo"}
>>> print '<a href="{p[usuario]}/">{p[nome]} ({0} pontos)</a>'.format(4, p=pessoa)
<a href="fgmacedo/">Fernando (4 pontos)</a>
I think the format more elegant and powerful. You can read the full specification of the formatting language that str.format uses in the Format Specification Mini-Language .