PRINTF

printf − format and print data

printf FORMAT [ARGUMENT]...
printf OPTION

Print ARGUMENT(s) according to FORMAT, or execute according to OPTION:

−−help

display this help and exit

−−version

output version information and exit

FORMAT controls the output as in C printf. Interpreted sequences are:

\"

double quote

\\

backslash

\a

alert (BEL)

\b

backspace

\c

produce no further output

\e

escape

\f

form feed

\n

new line

\r

carriage return

\t

horizontal tab

\v

vertical tab

\NNN

byte with octal value NNN (1 to 3 digits)

\xHH

byte with hexadecimal value HH (1 to 2 digits)

\uHHHH

Unicode (ISO/IEC 10646) character with hex value HHHH (4 digits)

\UHHHHHHHH

Unicode character with hex value HHHHHHHH (8 digits)

%%

a single %

%b

ARGUMENT as a string with ‘\’ escapes interpreted, except that octal escapes are of the form \0 or \0NNN

and all C format specifications ending with one of diouxXfeEgGcs, with ARGUMENTs converted to proper type first. Variable widths are handled.

NOTE: your shell may have its own version of printf, which usually supersedes the version described here. Please refer to your shell’s documentation for details about the options it supports.

Written by David MacKenzie.

Report printf bugs to bug−coreutils@gnu.org
GNU coreutils home page: <http://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/>
General help using GNU software: <http://www.gnu.org/gethelp/>
Report printf translation bugs to <http://translationproject.org/team/>

Copyright © 2010 Free Software Foundation, Inc. License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <http://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>.
This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it. There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.

printf(3)

The full documentation for printf is maintained as a Texinfo manual. If the info and printf programs are properly installed at your site, the command

info coreutils 'printf invocation'

should give you access to the complete manual.