printf, fprintf, sprintf, snprintf, printf_s, fprintf_s, sprintf_s, snprintf_s (2024)

Table of Contents
Contents [edit] Parameters [edit] Return value [edit] Notes [edit] Example [edit] References [edit] See also

C

Language
Headers
Type support
Program utilities
Variadic function support
Error handling
Dynamic memory management
Strings library
Algorithms
Numerics
Date and time utilities
Input/output support
Localization support
Concurrency support (C11)
Technical Specifications
Symbol index

[edit]

File input/output

Types and objects

FILE

fpos_t


stdinstdoutstderr

Functions
File access

fopenfopen_s

(C11)

freopenfreopen_s

(C11)

fwide

(C95)

setbuf

setvbuf

fclose

fflush

Direct input/output

fread

fwrite

Unformatted input/output

fgetc

fgets

fputc

fputs

getchar

getsgets_s

(until C11)(C11)

putchar

puts

ungetc

fgetwcgetwc

(C95)(C95)

fgetws

(C95)

fputwcputwc

(C95)(C95)

fputws

(C95)

getwchar

(C95)

putwchar

(C95)

ungetwc

(C95)

Formatted input

scanffscanfsscanfscanf_sfscanf_ssscanf_s

(C11)(C11)(C11)

wscanffwscanfswscanfwscanf_sfwscanf_sswscanf_s

(C95)(C95)(C95)(C11)(C11)(C11)

vscanfvfscanfvsscanfvscanf_svfscanf_svsscanf_s

(C99)(C99)(C99)(C11)(C11)(C11)

vwscanfvfwscanfvswscanfvwscanf_svfwscanf_svswscanf_s

(C99)(C99)(C99)(C11)(C11)(C11)

Formatted output

printffprintfsprintfsnprintfprintf_sfprintf_ssprintf_ssnprintf_s

(C99)(C11)(C11)(C11)(C11)

wprintffwprintfswprintfwprintf_sfwprintf_sswprintf_ssnwprintf_s

(C95)(C95)(C95)(C11)(C11)(C11)(C11)

vprintfvfprintfvsprintfvsnprintfvprintf_svfprintf_svsprintf_svsnprintf_s

(C99)(C11)(C11)(C11)(C11)

vwprintfvfwprintfvswprintfvwprintf_svfwprintf_svswprintf_svsnwprintf_s

(C95)(C95)(C95)(C11)(C11)(C11)(C11)

File positioning

ftell

fgetpos

fseek

fsetpos

rewind

Error handling

clearerr

feof

ferror

perror

Operations on files

remove

rename

tmpfiletmpfile_s

(C11)

tmpnamtmpnam_s

(C11)

Defined in header <stdio.h>

(1)

int printf( const char *format, ... );

 (until C99)

int printf( const char *restrict format, ... );

 (since C99)
(2)

int fprintf( FILE *stream, const char *format, ... );

 (until C99)

int fprintf( FILE *restrict stream, const char *restrict format, ... );

 (since C99)
(3)

int sprintf( char *buffer, const char *format, ... );

 (until C99)

int sprintf( char *restrict buffer, const char *restrict format, ... );

 (since C99)

int snprintf( char *restrict buffer, size_t bufsz,
const char *restrict format, ... );

 (4) (since C99)

int printf_s( const char *restrict format, ... );

 (5) (since C11)

int fprintf_s( FILE *restrict stream, const char *restrict format, ... );

 (6) (since C11)

int sprintf_s( char *restrict buffer, rsize_t bufsz,
const char *restrict format, ... );

 (7) (since C11)

int snprintf_s( char *restrict buffer, rsize_t bufsz,
const char *restrict format, ... );

 (8) (since C11)

Loads the data from the given locations, converts them to character string equivalents and writes the results to a variety of sinks/streams:

1) Writes the results to the output stream stdout.

2) Writes the results to the output stream stream.

3) Writes the results to a character string buffer. The behavior is undefined if the string to be written (plus the terminating null character) exceeds the size of the array pointed to by buffer.

4) Writes the results to a character string buffer. At most bufsz - 1 characters are written. The resulting character string will be terminated with a null character, unless bufsz is zero. If bufsz is zero, nothing is written and buffer may be a null pointer, however the return value (number of bytes that would be written not including the null terminator) is still calculated and returned.

5-8) Same as (1-4), except that the following errors are detected at runtime and call the currently installed constraint handler function:

  • the conversion specifier %n is present in format
  • any of the arguments corresponding to %s is a null pointer
  • stream or format or buffer is a null pointer
  • bufsz is zero or greater than RSIZE_MAX
  • encoding errors occur in any of string and character conversion specifiers
  • (for sprintf_s only), the string to be stored in buffer (including the trailing null) would exceed bufsz
As with all bounds-checked functions, printf_s , fprintf_s, sprintf_s, and snprintf_s are only guaranteed to be available if __STDC_LIB_EXT1__ is defined by the implementation and if the user defines __STDC_WANT_LIB_EXT1__ to the integer constant 1 before including <stdio.h>.

Contents

  • 1 Parameters
  • 2 Return value
  • 3 Notes
  • 4 Example
  • 5 References
  • 6 See also

[edit] Parameters

stream - output file stream to write to
buffer - pointer to a character string to write to
bufsz - up to bufsz - 1 characters may be written, plus the null terminator
format - pointer to a null-terminated byte string specifying how to interpret the data
... - arguments specifying data to print. If any argument after default argument promotions is not the type expected by the corresponding conversion specifier, or if there are fewer arguments than required by format, the behavior is undefined. If there are more arguments than required by format, the extraneous arguments are evaluated and ignored.


The format string consists of ordinary byte characters (except %), which are copied unchanged into the output stream, and conversion specifications. Each conversion specification has the following format:

  • introductory % character.
  • (optional) one or more flags that modify the behavior of the conversion:
  • -: the result of the conversion is left-justified within the field (by default it is right-justified).
  • +: the sign of signed conversions is always prepended to the result of the conversion (by default the result is preceded by minus only when it is negative).
  • space: if the result of a signed conversion does not start with a sign character, or is empty, space is prepended to the result. It is ignored if + flag is present.
  • #: alternative form of the conversion is performed. See the table below for exact effects otherwise the behavior is undefined.
  • 0: for integer and floating point number conversions, leading zeros are used to pad the field instead of space characters. For integer numbers it is ignored if the precision is explicitly specified. For other conversions using this flag results in undefined behavior. It is ignored if - flag is present.
  • (optional) integer value or * that specifies minimum field width. The result is padded with space characters (by default), if required, on the left when right-justified, or on the right if left-justified. In the case when * is used, the width is specified by an additional argument of type int, which appears before the argument to be converted and the argument supplying precision if one is supplied. If the value of the argument is negative, it results with the - flag specified and positive field width (Note: This is the minimum width: The value is never truncated.).
  • (optional) . followed by integer number or *, or neither that specifies precision of the conversion. In the case when * is used, the precision is specified by an additional argument of type int, which appears before the argument to be converted, but after the argument supplying minimum field width if one is supplied. If the value of this argument is negative, it is ignored. If neither a number nor * is used, the precision is taken as zero. See the table below for exact effects of precision.
  • (optional) length modifier that specifies the size of the argument (in combination with the conversion format specifier, it specifies the type of the corresponding argument).
  • conversion format specifier.

The following format specifiers are available:

Conversion
Specifier		ExplanationExpected
Argument Type

Length
Modifier

→		hh

(C99)

h(none)lll

(C99)

j

(C99)

z

(C99)

t

(C99)

L
%Writes literal %. The full conversion specification must be %%. N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
c
Writes a single character.

The argument is first converted to unsigned char.If the l modifier is used, the argument is first converted to a character string as if by %ls with a wchar_t[2] argument.

 N/A N/A

int

wint_t

 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
s
Writes a character string

The argument must be a pointer to the initial element of an array of characters. Precision specifies the maximum number of bytes to be written. If Precision is not specified, writes every byte up to and not including the first null terminator.If the l specifier is used, the argument must be a pointer to the initial element of an array of wchar_t, which is converted to char array as if by a call to wcrtomb with zero-initialized conversion state.

 N/A N/A

char*

wchar_t*

 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
d
i
Converts a signed integer into decimal representation [-]dddd.

Precision specifies the minimum number of digits to appear. The default precision is 1.

If both the converted value and the precision are ​0​ the conversion results in no characters.

signed char

short

int

long

long long

intmax_t

signed size_t

ptrdiff_t

 N/A
o
Converts an unsigned integer into octal representation oooo.

Precision specifies the minimum number of digits to appear. The default precision is 1. If both the converted value and the precision are ​0​ the conversion results in no characters.In the alternative implementation precision is increased if necessary, to write one leading zero.In that case if both the converted value and the precision are ​0​, single ​0​ is written.

unsigned char

unsigned short

unsigned int

unsigned long

unsigned long long

uintmax_t

size_t

unsigned version of ptrdiff_t

 N/A
x
X
Converts an unsigned integer into hexadecimal representation hhhh.

For the x conversion letters abcdef are used.
For the X conversion letters ABCDEF are used.
Precision specifies the minimum number of digits to appear. The default precision is 1.If both the converted value and the precision are ​0​ the conversion results in no characters.In the alternative implementation 0x or 0X is prefixed to results if the converted value is nonzero.

 N/A
u
Converts an unsigned integer into decimal representation dddd.

Precision specifies the minimum number of digits to appear. The default precision is 1. If both the converted value and the precision are ​0​ the conversion results in no characters.

 N/A
f
F
Converts floating-point number to the decimal notation in the style [-]ddd.ddd.

Precision specifies the exact number of digits to appear after the decimal point character. The default precision is 6.In the alternative implementation decimal point character is written even if no digits follow it.For infinity and not-a-number conversion style see notes.

 N/A N/A

double

double(C99)

 N/A N/A N/A N/A

long double

e
E
Converts floating-point number to the decimal exponent notation.

For the e conversion style [-]d.ddde±dd is used.
For the E conversion style [-]d.dddE±dd is used.
The exponent contains at least two digits, more digits are used only if necessary. If the value is ​0​, the exponent is also ​0​.Precision specifies the exact number of digits to appear after the decimal point character. The default precision is 6.In the alternative implementation decimal point character is written even if no digits follow it.For infinity and not-a-number conversion style see notes.

 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
a
A

(C99)

Converts floating-point number to the hexadecimal exponent notation.

For the a conversion style [-]0xh.hhhp±d is used.
For the A conversion style [-]0Xh.hhhP±d is used.
The first hexadecimal digit is not 0 if the argument is a normalized floating point value.If the value is ​0​, the exponent is also ​0​.Precision specifies the exact number of digits to appear after the hexadecimal point character. The default precision is sufficient for exact representation of the value.In the alternative implementation decimal point character is written even if no digits follow it.For infinity and not-a-number conversion style see notes.

 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
g
G
Converts floating-point number to decimal or decimal exponent notation depending on the value and the precision.

For the g conversion style conversion with style e or f will be performed.
For the G conversion style conversion with style E or F will be performed.
Let P equal the precision if nonzero, 6 if the precision is not specified, or 1 if the precision is ​0​. Then, if a conversion with style E would have an exponent of X:

  • if P > X ≥ −4, the conversion is with style f or F and precision P − 1 − X.
  • otherwise, the conversion is with style e or E and precision P − 1.

Unless alternative representation is requested the trailing zeros are removed, also the decimal point character is removed if no fractional part is left.For infinity and not-a-number conversion style see notes.

 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
n
Returns the number of characters written so far by this call to the function.

The result is written to the value pointed to by the argument. The specification may not contain any flag, field width, or precision.

signed char*

short*

int*

long*

long long*

intmax_t*

signed size_t*

ptrdiff_t*

 N/A
pWrites an implementation defined character sequence defining a pointer. N/A N/Avoid* N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

The floating point conversion functions convert infinity to inf or infinity. Which one is used is implementation defined.

Not-a-number is converted to nan or nan(char_sequence). Which one is used is implementation defined.

The conversions F, E, G, A output INF, INFINITY, NAN instead.

Even though %c expects int argument, it is safe to pass a char because of the integer promotion that takes place when a variadic function is called.

See Also
Write data to text file

The correct conversion specifications for the fixed-width character types (int8_t, etc) are defined in the header <inttypes.h> (although PRIdMAX, PRIuMAX, etc is synonymous with %jd, %ju, etc).

The memory-writing conversion specifier %n is a common target of security exploits where format strings depend on user input and is not supported by the bounds-checked printf_s family of functions.

There is a sequence point after the action of each conversion specifier; this permits storing multiple %n results in the same variable or, as an edge case, printing a string modified by an earlier %n within the same call.

If a conversion specification is invalid, the behavior is undefined.

[edit] Return value

1,2) number of characters transmitted to the output stream or negative value if an output error or an encoding error (for string and character conversion specifiers) occurred

3) number of characters written to buffer (not counting the terminating null character), or a negative value if an encoding error (for string and character conversion specifiers) occurred

4) number of characters (not including the terminating null character) which would have been written to buffer if bufsz was ignored, or a negative value if an encoding error (for string and character conversion specifiers) occurred

5,6) number of characters transmitted to the output stream or negative value if an output error, a runtime constraints violation error, or an encoding error occurred.

7) number of characters written to buffer, not counting the null character (which is always written as long as buffer is not a null pointer and bufsz is not zero and not greater than RSIZE_MAX), or zero on runtime constraint violations, and negative value on encoding errors

8) number of characters not including the terminating null character (which is always written as long as buffer is not a null pointer and bufsz is not zero and not greater than RSIZE_MAX), which would have been written to buffer if bufsz was ignored, or a negative value if a runtime constraints violation or an encoding error occurred

[edit] Notes

The C standard and POSIX specify that the behavior of sprintf and its variants is undefined when an argument overlaps with the destination buffer. Example:

sprintf(dst, "%s and%s", dst, t); // <- broken: undefined behavior

POSIX specifies that errno is set on error. It also specifies additional conversion specifications, most notably support for argument reordering (n$ immediately after % indicates nth argument).

Calling snprintf with zero bufsz and null pointer for buffer is useful to determine the necessary buffer size to contain the output:

const char fmt[] = "sqrt(2) =%f";int sz = snprintf(NULL, 0, fmt, sqrt(2));char buf[sz + 1]; // note +1 for terminating null bytesnprintf(buf, sizeof buf, fmt, sqrt(2));

snprintf_s, just like snprintf, but unlike sprintf_s, will truncate the output to fit in bufsz-1.

[edit] Example

Run this code

#include <stdio.h>#include <stdint.h>#include <inttypes.h>int main(void){ const char* s = "Hello"; printf("Strings:\n"); // same as puts("Strings"); printf(" padding:\n"); printf("\t[%10s]\n", s); printf("\t[%-10s]\n", s); printf("\t[%*s]\n", 10, s); printf(" truncating:\n"); printf("\t%.4s\n", s); printf("\t%.*s\n", 3, s); printf("Characters:\t%c%%\n", 'A'); printf("Integers:\n"); printf("\tDecimal:\t%i%d%.6i%i%.0i%+i%i\n", 1, 2, 3, 0, 0, 4,-4); printf("\tHexadecimal:\t%x%x%X%#x\n", 5, 10, 10, 6); printf("\tOctal:\t\t%o%#o%#o\n", 10, 10, 4); printf("Floating point:\n"); printf("\tRounding:\t%f%.0f%.32f\n", 1.5, 1.5, 1.3); printf("\tPadding:\t%05.2f%.2f%5.2f\n", 1.5, 1.5, 1.5); printf("\tScientific:\t%E%e\n", 1.5, 1.5); printf("\tHexadecimal:\t%a%A\n", 1.5, 1.5); printf("\tSpecial values:\t0/0=%g 1/0=%g\n", 0.0/0.0, 1.0/0.0); printf("Fixed-width types:\n"); printf("\tLargest 32-bit value is%" PRIu32 " or%#" PRIx32 "\n", UINT32_MAX, UINT32_MAX );}

Possible output:

Strings: padding:[ Hello][Hello ][ Hello] truncating:HellHelCharacters:A%Integers:Decimal:1 2 000003 0 +4 -4Hexadecimal:5 a A 0x6Octal:12 012 04Floating point:Rounding:1.500000 2 1.30000000000000004440892098500626Padding:01.50 1.50 1.50Scientific:1.500000E+00 1.500000e+00Hexadecimal:0x1.8p+0 0X1.8P+0Special values:0/0=-nan 1/0=infFixed-width types:Largest 32-bit value is 4294967295 or 0xffffffff

[edit] References

  • C17 standard (ISO/IEC 9899:2018):
  • 7.21.6.1 The fprintf function (p: 225-230)
  • 7.21.6.3 The printf function (p: 236)
  • 7.21.6.5 The snprintf function (p: 237)
  • 7.21.6.6 The sprintf function (p: 237)
  • K.3.5.3.1 The fprintf_s function (p: 430)
  • K.3.5.3.3 The printf_s function (p: 432)
  • K.3.5.3.5 The snprintf_s function (p: 432-433)
  • K.3.5.3.6 The sprintf_s function (p: 433)
  • C11 standard (ISO/IEC 9899:2011):
  • 7.21.6.1 The fprintf function (p: 309-316)
  • 7.21.6.3 The printf function (p: 324)
  • 7.21.6.5 The snprintf function (p: 325)
  • 7.21.6.6 The sprintf function (p: 325-326)
  • K.3.5.3.1 The fprintf_s function (p: 591)
  • K.3.5.3.3 The printf_s function (p: 593-594)
  • K.3.5.3.5 The snprintf_s function (p: 594-595)
  • K.3.5.3.6 The sprintf_s function (p: 595-596)
  • C99 standard (ISO/IEC 9899:1999):
  • 7.19.6.1 The fprintf function (p: 274-282)
  • 7.19.6.3 The printf function (p: 290)
  • 7.19.6.5 The snprintf function (p: 290-291)
  • 7.19.6.6 The sprintf function (p: 291)
  • C89/C90 standard (ISO/IEC 9899:1990):
  • 4.9.6.1 The fprintf function
  • 4.9.6.3 The printf function
  • 4.9.6.5 The sprintf function

[edit] See also

wprintffwprintfswprintfwprintf_sfwprintf_sswprintf_ssnwprintf_s

(C95)(C95)(C95)(C11)(C11)(C11)(C11)

 prints formatted wide character output to stdout, a file stream or a buffer
(function) [edit]

vprintfvfprintfvsprintfvsnprintfvprintf_svfprintf_svsprintf_svsnprintf_s

(C99)(C11)(C11)(C11)(C11)

 prints formatted output to stdout, a file stream or a buffer
using variable argument list
(function) [edit]

fputs

 writes a character string to a file stream
(function) [edit]

scanffscanfsscanfscanf_sfscanf_ssscanf_s

(C11)(C11)(C11)

 reads formatted input from stdin, a file stream or a buffer
(function) [edit]

C++ documentation for printf, fprintf, sprintf, snprintf

printf, fprintf, sprintf, snprintf, printf_s, fprintf_s, sprintf_s, snprintf_s (2024)
Top Articles
How to make a YouTube banner that attracts an audience, with examples
10 of the Coolest YouTube Banners We've Ever Seen
3H2 - Totalitarismes - comparaison URSS (Staline) / Allemagne (Hitler)
Hitler Staline, le choc des tyrans
WWE Royal Rumble 2023 results: Roman Reigns defeats Kevin Owens, but Sami Zayn pays the price
2023 WWE Royal Rumble Results: Men’s and Women’s Rumble Matches, Reigns vs. Owens, and More | Fightful News
5 cheapest payroll services of 2024
Best Nanny Payroll Service (2024 Rankings)
Craigslist Daytona Beach Cars And Trucks By Owner
Courtyard Check Out
Craigs List Worc
Tundra Esports wins ESL One Fall 2021 in an explosive grand final
Latest Posts
Thai Peanut Curry Chicken Recipe (Better Than Takeout) | Modernmealmakeover.com
Tuna Crunch Sandwiches Recipe
Article information

Author: Margart Wisoky

Last Updated:

Views: 5880

Rating: 4.8 / 5 (78 voted)

Reviews: 93% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Margart Wisoky

Birthday: 1993-05-13

Address: 2113 Abernathy Knoll, New Tamerafurt, CT 66893-2169

Phone: +25815234346805

Job: Central Developer

Hobby: Machining, Pottery, Rafting, Cosplaying, Jogging, Taekwondo, Scouting

Introduction: My name is Margart Wisoky, I am a gorgeous, shiny, successful, beautiful, adventurous, excited, pleasant person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.