printf

printf formats [strings]

Print strings using the specified formats. formats can be ordinary text characters, C-language escape characters, printf(3S) format conversion specifiers, or, more commonly, a set of conversion arguments listed next.

Arguments

%b

Process a string argument for backslash escapes (not in printf(3S)). See the description of allowed escapes under echo.

%s

Print the next string.

%n$s

Print the nth string.

%[-]m[.n]s

Print the next string, using a field that is m characters wide. Optionally limit the field to print only the first n characters of string. Strings are right-adjusted unless the left-adjustment flag - is specified.

Examples

$ printf '%s %s\n' "My files are in" $HOME
My files are in /home/arnold
$ printf '%-25.15s %s\n' "My files are in" $HOME
My files are in           /home/arnold