use v5.8.0; use strict; use warnings; package String::Formatter 1.235; # ABSTRACT: build sprintf-like functions of your own #pod =head1 SYNOPSIS #pod #pod use String::Formatter stringf => { #pod -as => 'str_rf', #pod codes => { #pod f => sub { $_ }, #pod b => sub { scalar reverse $_ }, #pod o => 'Okay?', #pod }, #pod }; #pod #pod print str_rf('This is %10f and this is %-15b, %o', 'forward', 'backward'); #pod #pod ...prints... #pod #pod This is forward and this is drawkcab , okay? #pod #pod =head1 DESCRIPTION #pod #pod String::Formatter is a tool for building sprintf-like formatting routines. #pod It supports named or positional formatting, custom conversions, fixed string #pod interpolation, and simple width-matching out of the box. It is easy to alter #pod its behavior to write new kinds of format string expanders. For most cases, it #pod should be easy to build all sorts of formatters out of the options built into #pod String::Formatter. #pod #pod Normally, String::Formatter will be used to import a sprintf-like routine #pod referred to as "C", but which can be given any name you like. This #pod routine acts like sprintf in that it takes a string and some inputs and returns #pod a new string: #pod #pod my $output = stringf "Some %a format %s for you to %u.\n", { ... }; #pod #pod This routine is actually a wrapper around a String::Formatter object created by #pod importing stringf. In the following code, the entire hashref after "stringf" #pod is passed to String::Formatter's constructor (the C method), save for the #pod C<-as> key and any other keys that start with a dash. #pod #pod use String::Formatter #pod stringf => { #pod -as => 'fmt_time', #pod codes => { ... }, #pod format_hunker => ..., #pod input_processor => ..., #pod }, #pod stringf => { #pod -as => 'fmt_date', #pod codes => { ... }, #pod string_replacer => ..., #pod hunk_formatter => ..., #pod }, #pod ; #pod #pod As you can see, this will generate two stringf routines, with different #pod behaviors, which are installed with different names. Since the behavior of #pod these routines is based on the C method of a String::Formatter object, #pod the rest of the documentation will describe the way the object behaves. #pod #pod There's also a C export, which behaves just like the C #pod export, but defaults to the C and C #pod arguments. There's a C export, which defaults #pod C and C. Finally, a C, #pod which defaults to C and C. For more #pod on these, keep reading, and check out the cookbook. #pod #pod L provides a number of recipes for ways to put #pod String::Formatter to use. #pod #pod =head1 FORMAT STRINGS #pod #pod Format strings are generally assumed to look like Perl's sprintf's format #pod strings: #pod #pod There's a bunch of normal strings and then %s format %1.4c with %% signs. #pod #pod The exact semantics of the format codes are not totally settled yet -- and they #pod can be replaced on a per-formatter basis. Right now, they're mostly a subset #pod of Perl's astonishingly large and complex system. That subset looks like this: #pod #pod % - a percent sign to begin the format #pod ... - (optional) various modifiers to the format like "-5" or "#" or "2$" #pod {..} - (optional) a string inside braces #pod s - a short string (usually one character) identifying the conversion #pod #pod Not all format modifiers found in Perl's C are yet supported. #pod Currently the only format modifiers must match: #pod #pod (-)? # left-align, rather than right #pod (\d*)? # (optional) minimum field width #pod (?:\.(\d*))? # (optional) maximum field width #pod #pod Some additional format semantics may be added, but probably nothing exotic. #pod Even things like C<2$> and C<*> are probably not going to appear in #pod String::Formatter's default behavior. #pod #pod Another subtle difference, introduced intentionally, is in the handling of #pod C<%%>. With the default String::Formatter behavior, string C<%%> is not #pod interpreted as a formatting code. This is different from the behavior of #pod Perl's C, which interprets it as a special formatting character that #pod doesn't consume input and always acts like the fixed string C<%>. The upshot #pod of this is: #pod #pod sprintf "%%"; # ==> returns "%" #pod stringf "%%"; # ==> returns "%%" #pod #pod sprintf "%10%"; # ==> returns " %" #pod stringf "%10%"; # ==> dies: unknown format code % #pod #pod =cut use Params::Util (); use Sub::Exporter -setup => { exports => { stringf => sub { my ($class, $name, $arg, $col) = @_; my $formatter = $class->new($arg); return sub { $formatter->format(@_) }; }, method_stringf => sub { my ($class, $name, $arg, $col) = @_; my $formatter = $class->new({ input_processor => 'require_single_input', string_replacer => 'method_replace', %$arg, }); return sub { $formatter->format(@_) }; }, named_stringf => sub { my ($class, $name, $arg, $col) = @_; my $formatter = $class->new({ input_processor => 'require_named_input', string_replacer => 'named_replace', %$arg, }); return sub { $formatter->format(@_) }; }, indexed_stringf => sub { my ($class, $name, $arg, $col) = @_; my $formatter = $class->new({ input_processor => 'require_arrayref_input', string_replacer => 'indexed_replace', %$arg, }); return sub { $formatter->format(@_) }; }, }, }; my %METHODS; BEGIN { %METHODS = ( format_hunker => 'hunk_simply', input_processor => 'return_input', string_replacer => 'positional_replace', hunk_formatter => 'format_simply', ); no strict 'refs'; for my $method (keys %METHODS) { *$method = sub { $_[0]->{ $method } }; my $default = "default_$method"; *$default = sub { $METHODS{ $method } }; } } #pod =method new #pod #pod my $formatter = String::Formatter->new({ #pod codes => { ... }, #pod format_hunker => ..., #pod input_processor => ..., #pod string_replacer => ..., #pod hunk_formatter => ..., #pod }); #pod #pod This returns a new formatter. The C argument contains the formatting #pod codes for the formatter in the form: #pod #pod codes => { #pod s => 'fixed string', #pod S => 'different string', #pod c => sub { ... }, #pod } #pod #pod Code values (or "conversions") should either be strings or coderefs. This #pod hashref can be accessed later with the C method. #pod #pod The other four arguments change how the formatting occurs. Formatting happens #pod in five phases: #pod #pod =for :list #pod 1. format_hunker - format string is broken down into fixed and %-code hunks #pod 2. input_processor - the other inputs are validated and processed #pod 3. string_replacer - replacement strings are generated by using conversions #pod 4. hunk_formatter - replacement strings in hunks are formatted #pod 5. all hunks, now strings, are recombined; this phase is just C #pod #pod The defaults are found by calling C for each helper that #pod isn't given. Values must be either strings (which are interpreted as method #pod names) or coderefs. The semantics for each method are described in the #pod methods' sections, below. #pod #pod =cut sub default_codes { return {}; } sub new { my ($class, $arg) = @_; my $_codes = { %{ $class->default_codes }, %{ $arg->{codes} || {} }, }; my $self = bless { codes => $_codes } => $class; for (keys %METHODS) { $self->{ $_ } = $arg->{ $_ } || do { my $default_method = "default_$_"; $class->$default_method; }; $self->{$_} = $self->can($self->{$_}) unless ref $self->{$_}; } my $codes = $self->codes; return $self; } sub codes { $_[0]->{codes} } #pod =method format #pod #pod my $result = $formatter->format( $format_string, @input ); #pod #pod print $formatter->format("My %h is full of %e.\n", 'hovercraft', 'eels'); #pod #pod This does the actual formatting, calling the methods described above, under #pod C> and returning the result. #pod #pod =cut sub format { my $self = shift; my $format = shift; Carp::croak("not enough arguments for stringf-based format") unless defined $format; my $hunker = $self->format_hunker; my $hunks = $self->$hunker($format); my $processor = $self->input_processor; my $input = $self->$processor([ @_ ]); my $replacer = $self->string_replacer; $self->$replacer($hunks, $input); my $formatter = $self->hunk_formatter; ref($_) and $_ = $self->$formatter($_) for @$hunks; my $string = join q{}, @$hunks; return $string; } #pod =method format_hunker #pod #pod Format hunkers are passed strings and return arrayrefs containing strings (for #pod fixed content) and hashrefs (for formatting code sections). #pod #pod The hashref hunks should contain at least two entries: C for the #pod conversion code (the s, d, or u in %s, %d, or %u); and C for the #pod complete original text of the hunk. For example, a bare minimum hunker should #pod turn the following: #pod #pod I would like to buy %d %s today. #pod #pod ...into... #pod #pod [ #pod 'I would like to buy ', #pod { conversion => 'd', literal => '%d' }, #pod ' ', #pod { conversion => 's', literal => '%d' }, #pod ' today.', #pod ] #pod #pod Another common entry is C. In the format strings expected by #pod C, for example, these are free strings inside of curly braces. #pod These are used extensively other existing helpers for things liked accessing #pod named arguments or providing method names. #pod #pod =method hunk_simply #pod #pod This is the default format hunker. It implements the format string semantics #pod L. #pod #pod This hunker will produce C and C and C. Its #pod other entries are not yet well-defined for public consumption. #pod #pod =cut my $regex = qr/ (% # leading '%' (-)? # left-align, rather than right ([0-9]+)? # (optional) minimum field width (?:\.([0-9]*))? # (optional) maximum field width (?:{(.*?)})? # (optional) stuff inside (\S) # actual format character ) /x; sub hunk_simply { my ($self, $string) = @_; my @to_fmt; my $pos = 0; while ($string =~ m{\G(.*?)$regex}gs) { push @to_fmt, $1, { alignment => $3, min_width => $4, max_width => $5, literal => $2, argument => $6, conversion => $7, }; $to_fmt[-1] = '%' if $to_fmt[-1]{literal} eq '%%'; $pos = pos $string; } push @to_fmt, substr $string, $pos if $pos < length $string; return \@to_fmt; } #pod =method input_processor #pod #pod The input processor is responsible for inspecting the post-format-string #pod arguments, validating them, and returning them in a possibly-transformed form. #pod The processor is passed an arrayref containing the arguments and should return #pod a scalar value to be used as the input going forward. #pod #pod =method return_input #pod #pod This input processor, the default, simply returns the input it was given with #pod no validation or transformation. #pod #pod =cut sub return_input { return $_[1]; } #pod =method require_named_input #pod #pod This input processor will raise an exception unless there is exactly one #pod post-format-string argument to the format call, and unless that argument is a #pod hashref. It will also replace the arrayref with the given hashref so #pod subsequent phases of the format can avoid lots of needless array dereferencing. #pod #pod =cut sub require_named_input { my ($self, $args) = @_; Carp::croak("routine must be called with exactly one hashref arg") if @$args != 1 or ! Params::Util::_HASHLIKE($args->[0]); return $args->[0]; } #pod =method require_arrayref_input #pod #pod This input processor will raise an exception unless there is exactly one #pod post-format-string argument to the format call, and unless that argument is a #pod arrayref. It will also replace the input with that single arrayref it found so #pod subsequent phases of the format can avoid lots of needless array dereferencing. #pod #pod =cut sub require_arrayref_input { my ($self, $args) = @_; Carp::croak("routine must be called with exactly one arrayref arg") if @$args != 1 or ! Params::Util::_ARRAYLIKE($args->[0]); return $args->[0]; } #pod =method require_single_input #pod #pod This input processor will raise an exception if more than one input is given. #pod After input processing, the single element in the input will be used as the #pod input itself. #pod #pod =cut sub require_single_input { my ($self, $args) = @_; Carp::croak("routine must be called with exactly one argument after string") if @$args != 1; return $args->[0]; } #pod =method forbid_input #pod #pod This input processor will raise an exception if any input is given. In other #pod words, formatters with this input processor accept format strings and nothing #pod else. #pod #pod =cut sub forbid_input { my ($self, $args) = @_; Carp::croak("routine must be called with no arguments after format string") if @$args; return $args; } #pod =method string_replacer #pod #pod The string_replacer phase is responsible for adding a C entry to #pod format code hunks. This should be a string-value entry that will be formatted #pod and concatenated into the output string. String replacers can also replace the #pod whole hunk with a string to avoid any subsequent formatting. #pod #pod =method positional_replace #pod #pod This replacer matches inputs to the hunk's position in the format string. This #pod is the default replacer, used in the L, which should #pod make its behavior clear. At present, fixed-string conversions B affect #pod the position of arg matched, meaning that given the following: #pod #pod my $formatter = String::Formatter->new({ #pod codes => { #pod f => 'fixed string', #pod s => sub { ... }, #pod } #pod }); #pod #pod $formatter->format("%s %f %s", 1, 2); #pod #pod The subroutine is called twice, once for the input C<1> and once for the input #pod C<2>. B after some more experimental use. #pod #pod =method named_replace #pod #pod This replacer should be used with the C input processor. #pod It expects the input to be a hashref and it finds values to be interpolated by #pod looking in the hashref for the brace-enclosed name on each format code. Here's #pod an example use: #pod #pod $formatter->format("This was the %{adj}s day in %{num}d weeks.", { #pod adj => 'best', #pod num => 6, #pod }); #pod #pod =method indexed_replace #pod #pod This replacer should be used with the C input #pod processor. It expects the input to be an arrayref and it finds values to be #pod interpolated by looking in the arrayref for the brace-enclosed index on each #pod format code. Here's an example use: #pod #pod $formatter->format("This was the %{1}s day in %{0}d weeks.", [ 6, 'best' ]); #pod #pod =cut sub __closure_replace { my ($closure) = @_; return sub { my ($self, $hunks, $input) = @_; my $heap = {}; my $code = $self->codes; for my $i (grep { ref $hunks->[$_] } 0 .. $#$hunks) { my $hunk = $hunks->[ $i ]; my $conv = $code->{ $hunk->{conversion} }; Carp::croak("Unknown conversion in stringf: $hunk->{conversion}") unless defined $conv; if (ref $conv) { $hunks->[ $i ]->{replacement} = $self->$closure({ conv => $conv, hunk => $hunk, heap => $heap, input => $input, }); } else { $hunks->[ $i ]->{replacement} = $conv; } } }; } # $self->$string_replacer($hunks, $input); BEGIN { *positional_replace = __closure_replace(sub { my ($self, $arg) = @_; local $_ = $arg->{input}->[ $arg->{heap}{nth}++ ]; return $arg->{conv}->($self, $_, $arg->{hunk}{argument}); }); *named_replace = __closure_replace(sub { my ($self, $arg) = @_; local $_ = $arg->{input}->{ $arg->{hunk}{argument} }; return $arg->{conv}->($self, $_, $arg->{hunk}{argument}); }); *indexed_replace = __closure_replace(sub { my ($self, $arg) = @_; local $_ = $arg->{input}->[ $arg->{hunk}{argument} ]; return $arg->{conv}->($self, $_, $arg->{hunk}{argument}); }); } #pod =method method_replace #pod #pod This string replacer method expects the input to be a single value on which #pod methods can be called. If a value was given in braces to the format code, it #pod is passed as an argument. #pod #pod =cut # should totally be rewritten with commonality with keyed_replace factored out sub method_replace { my ($self, $hunks, $input) = @_; my $heap = {}; my $code = $self->codes; for my $i (grep { ref $hunks->[$_] } 0 .. $#$hunks) { my $hunk = $hunks->[ $i ]; my $conv = $code->{ $hunk->{conversion} }; Carp::croak("Unknown conversion in stringf: $hunk->{conversion}") unless defined $conv; if (ref $conv) { local $_ = $input; $hunks->[ $i ]->{replacement} = $input->$conv($hunk->{argument}); } else { local $_ = $input; $hunks->[ $i ]->{replacement} = $input->$conv( defined $hunk->{argument} ? $hunk->{argument} : () ); } } } #pod =method keyed_replace #pod #pod This string replacer method expects the input to be a single hashref. Coderef #pod code values are used as callbacks, but strings are used as hash keys. If a #pod value was given in braces to the format code, it is ignored. #pod #pod For example if the codes contain C<< i => 'ident' >> then C<%i> in the format #pod string will be replaced with C<< $input->{ident} >> in the output. #pod #pod =cut # should totally be rewritten with commonality with method_replace factored out sub keyed_replace { my ($self, $hunks, $input) = @_; my $heap = {}; my $code = $self->codes; for my $i (grep { ref $hunks->[$_] } 0 .. $#$hunks) { my $hunk = $hunks->[ $i ]; my $conv = $code->{ $hunk->{conversion} }; Carp::croak("Unknown conversion in stringf: $hunk->{conversion}") unless defined $conv; if (ref $conv) { local $_ = $input; $hunks->[ $i ]->{replacement} = $input->$conv($hunk->{argument}); } else { local $_ = $input; $hunks->[ $i ]->{replacement} = $input->{$conv}; } } } #pod =method hunk_formatter #pod #pod The hunk_formatter processes each the hashref hunks left after string #pod replacement and returns a string. When it is called, it is passed a hunk #pod hashref and must return a string. #pod #pod =method format_simply #pod #pod This is the default hunk formatter. It deals with minimum and maximum width #pod cues as well as left and right alignment. Beyond that, it does no formatting #pod of the replacement string. #pod #pod =cut sub format_simply { my ($self, $hunk) = @_; my $replacement = $hunk->{replacement}; my $replength = length $replacement; my $alignment = $hunk->{alignment} || ''; my $min_width = $hunk->{min_width} || 0; my $max_width = $hunk->{max_width} || $replength; $min_width ||= $replength > $min_width ? $min_width : $replength; $max_width ||= $max_width > $replength ? $max_width : $replength; return sprintf "%$alignment${min_width}.${max_width}s", $replacement; } 1; #pod =begin :postlude #pod #pod =head1 HISTORY #pod #pod String::Formatter is based on L, written by #pod Darren Chamberlain. For a history of the code, check the project's source code #pod repository. All bugs should be reported to Ricardo Signes and #pod String::Formatter. Very little of the original code remains. #pod #pod =end :postlude #pod #pod =for Pod::Coverage #pod codes #pod default_format_hunker #pod default_input_processor #pod default_string_replacer #pod default_hunk_formatter #pod __END__ =pod =encoding UTF-8 =head1 NAME String::Formatter - build sprintf-like functions of your own =head1 VERSION version 1.235 =head1 SYNOPSIS use String::Formatter stringf => { -as => 'str_rf', codes => { f => sub { $_ }, b => sub { scalar reverse $_ }, o => 'Okay?', }, }; print str_rf('This is %10f and this is %-15b, %o', 'forward', 'backward'); ...prints... This is forward and this is drawkcab , okay? =head1 DESCRIPTION String::Formatter is a tool for building sprintf-like formatting routines. It supports named or positional formatting, custom conversions, fixed string interpolation, and simple width-matching out of the box. It is easy to alter its behavior to write new kinds of format string expanders. For most cases, it should be easy to build all sorts of formatters out of the options built into String::Formatter. Normally, String::Formatter will be used to import a sprintf-like routine referred to as "C", but which can be given any name you like. This routine acts like sprintf in that it takes a string and some inputs and returns a new string: my $output = stringf "Some %a format %s for you to %u.\n", { ... }; This routine is actually a wrapper around a String::Formatter object created by importing stringf. In the following code, the entire hashref after "stringf" is passed to String::Formatter's constructor (the C method), save for the C<-as> key and any other keys that start with a dash. use String::Formatter stringf => { -as => 'fmt_time', codes => { ... }, format_hunker => ..., input_processor => ..., }, stringf => { -as => 'fmt_date', codes => { ... }, string_replacer => ..., hunk_formatter => ..., }, ; As you can see, this will generate two stringf routines, with different behaviors, which are installed with different names. Since the behavior of these routines is based on the C method of a String::Formatter object, the rest of the documentation will describe the way the object behaves. There's also a C export, which behaves just like the C export, but defaults to the C and C arguments. There's a C export, which defaults C and C. Finally, a C, which defaults to C and C. For more on these, keep reading, and check out the cookbook. L provides a number of recipes for ways to put String::Formatter to use. =head1 PERL VERSION This library should run on perls released even a long time ago. It should work on any version of perl released in the last five years. Although it may work on older versions of perl, no guarantee is made that the minimum required version will not be increased. The version may be increased for any reason, and there is no promise that patches will be accepted to lower the minimum required perl. =head1 METHODS =head2 new my $formatter = String::Formatter->new({ codes => { ... }, format_hunker => ..., input_processor => ..., string_replacer => ..., hunk_formatter => ..., }); This returns a new formatter. The C argument contains the formatting codes for the formatter in the form: codes => { s => 'fixed string', S => 'different string', c => sub { ... }, } Code values (or "conversions") should either be strings or coderefs. This hashref can be accessed later with the C method. The other four arguments change how the formatting occurs. Formatting happens in five phases: =over 4 =item 1 format_hunker - format string is broken down into fixed and %-code hunks =item 2 input_processor - the other inputs are validated and processed =item 3 string_replacer - replacement strings are generated by using conversions =item 4 hunk_formatter - replacement strings in hunks are formatted =item 5 all hunks, now strings, are recombined; this phase is just C =back The defaults are found by calling C for each helper that isn't given. Values must be either strings (which are interpreted as method names) or coderefs. The semantics for each method are described in the methods' sections, below. =head2 format my $result = $formatter->format( $format_string, @input ); print $formatter->format("My %h is full of %e.\n", 'hovercraft', 'eels'); This does the actual formatting, calling the methods described above, under C> and returning the result. =head2 format_hunker Format hunkers are passed strings and return arrayrefs containing strings (for fixed content) and hashrefs (for formatting code sections). The hashref hunks should contain at least two entries: C for the conversion code (the s, d, or u in %s, %d, or %u); and C for the complete original text of the hunk. For example, a bare minimum hunker should turn the following: I would like to buy %d %s today. ...into... [ 'I would like to buy ', { conversion => 'd', literal => '%d' }, ' ', { conversion => 's', literal => '%d' }, ' today.', ] Another common entry is C. In the format strings expected by C, for example, these are free strings inside of curly braces. These are used extensively other existing helpers for things liked accessing named arguments or providing method names. =head2 hunk_simply This is the default format hunker. It implements the format string semantics L. This hunker will produce C and C and C. Its other entries are not yet well-defined for public consumption. =head2 input_processor The input processor is responsible for inspecting the post-format-string arguments, validating them, and returning them in a possibly-transformed form. The processor is passed an arrayref containing the arguments and should return a scalar value to be used as the input going forward. =head2 return_input This input processor, the default, simply returns the input it was given with no validation or transformation. =head2 require_named_input This input processor will raise an exception unless there is exactly one post-format-string argument to the format call, and unless that argument is a hashref. It will also replace the arrayref with the given hashref so subsequent phases of the format can avoid lots of needless array dereferencing. =head2 require_arrayref_input This input processor will raise an exception unless there is exactly one post-format-string argument to the format call, and unless that argument is a arrayref. It will also replace the input with that single arrayref it found so subsequent phases of the format can avoid lots of needless array dereferencing. =head2 require_single_input This input processor will raise an exception if more than one input is given. After input processing, the single element in the input will be used as the input itself. =head2 forbid_input This input processor will raise an exception if any input is given. In other words, formatters with this input processor accept format strings and nothing else. =head2 string_replacer The string_replacer phase is responsible for adding a C entry to format code hunks. This should be a string-value entry that will be formatted and concatenated into the output string. String replacers can also replace the whole hunk with a string to avoid any subsequent formatting. =head2 positional_replace This replacer matches inputs to the hunk's position in the format string. This is the default replacer, used in the L, which should make its behavior clear. At present, fixed-string conversions B affect the position of arg matched, meaning that given the following: my $formatter = String::Formatter->new({ codes => { f => 'fixed string', s => sub { ... }, } }); $formatter->format("%s %f %s", 1, 2); The subroutine is called twice, once for the input C<1> and once for the input C<2>. B after some more experimental use. =head2 named_replace This replacer should be used with the C input processor. It expects the input to be a hashref and it finds values to be interpolated by looking in the hashref for the brace-enclosed name on each format code. Here's an example use: $formatter->format("This was the %{adj}s day in %{num}d weeks.", { adj => 'best', num => 6, }); =head2 indexed_replace This replacer should be used with the C input processor. It expects the input to be an arrayref and it finds values to be interpolated by looking in the arrayref for the brace-enclosed index on each format code. Here's an example use: $formatter->format("This was the %{1}s day in %{0}d weeks.", [ 6, 'best' ]); =head2 method_replace This string replacer method expects the input to be a single value on which methods can be called. If a value was given in braces to the format code, it is passed as an argument. =head2 keyed_replace This string replacer method expects the input to be a single hashref. Coderef code values are used as callbacks, but strings are used as hash keys. If a value was given in braces to the format code, it is ignored. For example if the codes contain C<< i => 'ident' >> then C<%i> in the format string will be replaced with C<< $input->{ident} >> in the output. =head2 hunk_formatter The hunk_formatter processes each the hashref hunks left after string replacement and returns a string. When it is called, it is passed a hunk hashref and must return a string. =head2 format_simply This is the default hunk formatter. It deals with minimum and maximum width cues as well as left and right alignment. Beyond that, it does no formatting of the replacement string. =head1 FORMAT STRINGS Format strings are generally assumed to look like Perl's sprintf's format strings: There's a bunch of normal strings and then %s format %1.4c with %% signs. The exact semantics of the format codes are not totally settled yet -- and they can be replaced on a per-formatter basis. Right now, they're mostly a subset of Perl's astonishingly large and complex system. That subset looks like this: % - a percent sign to begin the format ... - (optional) various modifiers to the format like "-5" or "#" or "2$" {..} - (optional) a string inside braces s - a short string (usually one character) identifying the conversion Not all format modifiers found in Perl's C are yet supported. Currently the only format modifiers must match: (-)? # left-align, rather than right (\d*)? # (optional) minimum field width (?:\.(\d*))? # (optional) maximum field width Some additional format semantics may be added, but probably nothing exotic. Even things like C<2$> and C<*> are probably not going to appear in String::Formatter's default behavior. Another subtle difference, introduced intentionally, is in the handling of C<%%>. With the default String::Formatter behavior, string C<%%> is not interpreted as a formatting code. This is different from the behavior of Perl's C, which interprets it as a special formatting character that doesn't consume input and always acts like the fixed string C<%>. The upshot of this is: sprintf "%%"; # ==> returns "%" stringf "%%"; # ==> returns "%%" sprintf "%10%"; # ==> returns " %" stringf "%10%"; # ==> dies: unknown format code % =for Pod::Coverage codes default_format_hunker default_input_processor default_string_replacer default_hunk_formatter =head1 HISTORY String::Formatter is based on L, written by Darren Chamberlain. For a history of the code, check the project's source code repository. All bugs should be reported to Ricardo Signes and String::Formatter. Very little of the original code remains. =head1 AUTHORS =over 4 =item * Ricardo Signes =item * Darren Chamberlain =back =head1 CONTRIBUTORS =for stopwords Darren Chamberlain David Steinbrunner dlc Ricardo Signes =over 4 =item * Darren Chamberlain =item * David Steinbrunner =item * dlc =item * Ricardo Signes =back =head1 COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE This software is Copyright (c) 2022 by Ricardo Signes . This is free software, licensed under: The GNU General Public License, Version 2, June 1991 =cut