Displaying Integers with the format() Function

You can use the format() function to output strings in various formats.

This process is called formatting and involves placing a colon : inside curly braces {} to specify how the data should be displayed.

Copy
"{:format_option}".format(value)

• { } : Placeholder indicating where to insert the value

• : : Specifies format options

To output integers, use {:d} by placing the letter d to the right of the colon inside the curly braces.

Copy
number = 123

# Integer output
formatted = "number: {:d}".format(number)
print(formatted)  # "number: 123"

If you omit d, Python will automatically apply the appropriate format based on the value's data type.

Copy
number = 123

# Integer output
formatted = "number: {}".format(number)
print(formatted)  # "number: 123"

Placing a number after the colon sets the minimum width of the output.

For instance, {:5} sets the width of the output string to 5.

Copy
number = 123
formatted = "number: {:5}".format(number) # Set width to 5

# Inserts two spaces before 123
print(formatted)  # "number:   123",

To pad the width with zeros, prefix the width value with a 0.

Copy
number = 123
formatted = "number: {:05}".format(number) # Set width to 5

# Inserts two zeros before 123
print(formatted)  # "number: 00123"