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C Format Specifier
The Format specifier is a string used in the
formatted input and output functions. The
format string determines the format of the
input and output. The format string always
starts with a '%' character.
The commonly used format specifiers
in printf() function are:
Format Description
specifier
%d or It is used to print the signed
%i integer value where signed
integer means that the
variable can hold both
positive and negative values.
%u It is used to print the
unsigned integer value where
the unsigned integer means
that the variable can hold
only positive value.
%o It is used to print the octal
unsigned integer where octal
integer value always starts
with a 0 value.
%x It is used to print the
hexadecimal unsigned integer
where the hexadecimal
integer value always starts
with a 0x value. In this,
alphabetical characters are
printed in small letters such
as a, b, c, etc.
%X It is used to print the
hexadecimal unsigned
integer, but %X prints the
alphabetical characters in
uppercase such as A, B, C,
etc.
%f It is used for printing the
decimal floating-point values.
By default, it prints the 6
values after '.'.
%e/%E It is used for scientific
notation. It is also known as
Mantissa or Exponent.
%g It is used to print the decimal
floating-point values, and it
uses the fixed precision, i.e.,
the value after the decimal in
input would be exactly the
same as the value in the
output.
%p It is used to print the address
in a hexadecimal form.
%c It is used to print the
unsigned character.
%s It is used to print the strings.
%ld It is used to print the long-
signed integer value.
Let's understand the format specifiers
in detail through an example.
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%d
int main()
int b=6;
int c=8;
printf("Value of b is:%d", b);
printf("\nValue of c is:%d",c);
return 0;
In the above code, we are printing the
integer value of b and c by using the %d
specifier.
Output
%u
int main()
int b=10;
int c= -10;
printf("Value of b is:%u", b);
printf("\nValue of c is:%u",c);
return 0;
In the above program, we are displaying
the value of b and c by using an unsigned
format specifier, i.e., %u. The value of b is
positive, so %u specifier prints the exact
value of b, but it does not print the value
of c as c contains the negative value.
Output
%o
int main()
int a=0100;
printf("Octal value of a is: %o", a);
printf("\nInteger value of a is: %d",a);
return 0;
In the above code, we are displaying the
octal value and integer value of a.
Output
%x and %X
int main()
int y=0xA;
printf("Hexadecimal value of y is: %x", y);
printf("\nHexadecimal value of y is: %X",y);
printf("\nInteger value of y is: %d",y);
return 0;
In the above code, y contains the
hexadecimal value 'A'. We display the
hexadecimal value of y in two formats. We
use %x and %X to print the hexadecimal
value where %x displays the value in
small letters, i.e., 'a' and %X displays the
value in a capital letter, i.e., 'A'.
Output
%f
int main()
float y=3.4;
printf("Floating point value of y is: %f", y);
return 0;
The above code prints the floating value of
y.
Output
%e
int main()
float y=3;
printf("Exponential value of y is: %e", y);
return 0;
Output
%E
int main()
float y=3;
printf("Exponential value of y is: %E", y);
return 0;
Output
%g
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int main()
float y=3.8;
printf("Float value of y is: %g", y);
return 0;
In the above code, we are displaying the
floating value of y by using %g specifier.
The %g specifier displays the output same
as the input with a same precision.
Output
%p
int main()
int y=5;
printf("Address value of y in hexadecimal form i
return 0;
Output
%c
int main()
char a='c';
printf("Value of a is: %c", a);
return 0;
Output
%s
int main()
printf("%s", "javaTpoint");
return 0;
Output
Minimum Field Width Specifier
Suppose we want to display an output that
occupies a minimum number of spaces on
the screen. You can achieve this by
displaying an integer number after the
percent sign of the format specifier.
int main()
int x=900;
printf("%8d", x);
printf("\n%-8d",x);
return 0;
In the above program, %8d specifier
displays the value after 8 spaces while
%-8d specifier will make a value left-
aligned.
Output
Now we will see how to fill the empty
spaces. It is shown in the below code:
int main()
int x=12;
printf("%08d", x);
return 0;
In the above program, %08d means that
the empty space is filled with zeroes.
Output
Specifying Precision
We can specify the precision by using '.'
(Dot) operator which is followed by integer
and format specifier.
int main()
float x=12.2;
printf("%.2f", x);
return 0;
Output
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