Shell Programming and Scripting

Is possible to print padded string in printf?
Example

Code:

echo 1 | awk '{printf("%03d\n", $1)}'
001

I want

Code:

S1
S11
S2
S21

to be padded as:

Code:

S01
S11
S02
S21

Thanks!

How about using substr function?

Code:

awk '{ printf("%s%02d\n",substr($0,1,1),substr($0,2)) }' file

Thanks!
I should have thought of substr()!
Is there a simpler answer similar for number like printf "%04d" 12 #have 0012 to give any leading character you pick?

Your request is a little vague. If you want leading X characters in a 5 character field when you are printing a number that is 1 to 5 digits:

Code:

awk '
BEGIN {	Xs = "XXXXX"}
{	printf("%.*s%d\n", 5 - length($1), Xs, $1)}' file

which with input:

Code:

1
234
56789

produces the output:

Code:

XXXX1
XX234
56789

Is this what you're trying to do?

As always, if you want to try this on a Solaris/SunOS System, change awk to /usr/xpg4/bin/awk or nawk.

You can do the same thing with a POSIX conforming shell (without needing to invoke awk) with:

Code:

printf '%.*s%d\n' $((5 - ${#1})) "XXXXX" "$1"

I think he wanted more something like:

Code:

numbers="1 15 7 31 9"
digits=2
printf "S%0${digits}d\n" $numbers

Produces:

Code:

S01
S15
S07
S31
S09

hth

EDIT:
Just figured, Don's command is more dynamic.
But then again, one might want to start with digits=8 (for example) right on.

Thanks!
The format of my input is a combination of string(or a char, in the example) plus number, and the numbers are with different length of digits.
Yoda's answer is what I wanted, but I am wondering if there is a second way without stripping the leading char/string.
Another example:

Code:

input:
sk1
sk12
sk321
sk1344

Output:

Code:

sk0001
sk0012
sk0321
sk1344

Is that possible with printf?

The printf utility (or awk printf function) is not able to determine where digits are in an alphanumeric string. Giving us continually different examples showing that our suggestions don't work when you change your input format is placing those of us trying to help you in a continuing game of whack-a-mole.

Give us a clear definition of the input string formats you want to process, the output strings you want to produce from those input strings, and the parameters that will be supplied to specify output field width, fill characters to be used, where the input strings are coming from (a file, another string, command-line arguments, ...), how to determine where an input string prefix ends and the number begins, etc.