WoW:API format: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 04:45, 15 August 2023

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Creates a formatted string from format and substitution parameters, similar to sprintf in C.

local s = string.format(formatstring, e1, e2, ...)
local s = format(formatstring, e1, e2, ...)

Parameters[edit]

formatstring - the format string
... - list of substitutions of any relevant type

Returns[edit]

formatted string

Details[edit]

Create a formatted string from the format and arguments provided. This is similar to the printf("format",...) function in C. An additional option %q returns string in a format that can safely be read back by Lua interpreter (puts quotes around a string and escapes special characters), but used by World of Warcraft to preparse all strings before saving them between sessions. Lua supports the following subset of the C format specifiers, plus Lua specific 'q'

Substitution escapes[edit]

c, d, E, e, f, g, G, i, o, u, X, x (expect a number as argument)
q, s (expect a string as argument)
% (escape char, to produce % use %%)

Examples[edit]

String and quoted string

string.format("%s %q", "Hello", "Lua user!")
Hello "Lua user!"

Char

string.format("%c%c%c", 76,117,97)
Lua

Exponent

string.format("%e, %E", math.pi, math.pi) 
3.141593e+000, 3.141593E+000

Float and compact float

string.format("%f, %g, %.2f", math.pi, math.pi, math.pi) 
3.141593, 3.14159, 3.14

Signed, signed, unsigned integer

string.format("%d, %i, %u", -100,-100,-100) 
-100, -100, 4294967196

Octal, hex, hex

string.format("%o, %x, %X", -100,-100,-100)
37777777634, ffffff9c, FFFFFF9C

Note: if you want a % character to be output as part of your format string, you need to enter %%

string.format("Ratio is %u %%",12)
Ratio is 12 %

Macro Example[edit]

This macro prints out the time remaining on the Polymorph debuff in seconds, rounded to the nearest whole number:

/run for i=1,40 do local n,_,_,_,_,_,x,_,_=UnitDebuff("focus",i);if (n=="Polymorph")or (n=="Polymorph(Pig)")or (n=="Polymorph(Turtle)")then SendChatMessage(format("%.0f",-1*(GetTime()-x)).." secs left on "..UnitName("focus").."'s CC!","EMOTE");end end

External links[edit]

Lua string reference - https://www.lua.org/pil/20.html
GCC printf format - http://www.gnu.org/software/libc/manual/html_node/Formatted-Output.html#Formatted-Output

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{:Lua/Libshortcut|format|string.format}}
+{{wowlua}}
- string.format(formatstring, e1, e2, ...)
+Creates a formatted string from format and substitution parameters, similar to sprintf in C.
-Create a formatted string from the format and arguments provided. This is similar to the printf("format",...) function in C. An additional option %q puts quotes around a string.
+ local s = string.format(formatstring, e1, e2, ...)
+ local s = format(formatstring, e1, e2, ...)
-* c, d, E, e, f, g, G, i, o, u, X, and x all expect a number as argument.
+== Parameters ==
-* q and s expect a string.
+* formatstring - the format string
+* ... - list of substitutions of any relevant type
-  > = string.format("%s %q", "Hello", "Lua user!")   -- string and quoted string
+=== Returns ===
+* formatted string
+== Details ==
+Create a formatted string from the format and arguments provided. This is similar to the printf("format",...) function in C. An additional option %q returns string in a format that can safely be read back by Lua interpreter (puts quotes around a string and escapes special characters), but used by World of Warcraft to preparse all strings before saving them between sessions. Lua supports the following subset of the C format specifiers, plus Lua specific 'q'
+=== Substitution escapes ===
+* c, d, E, e, f, g, G, i, o, u, X, x (expect a number as argument)
+* q, s (expect a string as argument)
+* % (escape char, to produce % use %%)
+=== Examples ===
+String and quoted string
+  string.format("%s %q", "Hello", "Lua user!")
   Hello "Lua user!"
-  > = string.format("%c%c%c", 76,117,97)             -- char
+Char
+  string.format("%c%c%c", 76,117,97)
   Lua
-  > = string.format("%e, %E", math.pi,math.pi)       -- exponent
+Exponent
+  string.format("%e, %E", math.pi, math.pi)
 .141593e+000, 3.141593E+000
-  > = string.format("%f, %g, %.2f", math.pi, math.pi, math.pi)       -- float and compact float
+Float and compact float
+  string.format("%f, %g, %.2f", math.pi, math.pi, math.pi)
 .141593, 3.14159, 3.14
-  > = string.format("%d, %i, %u", -100,-100,-100)    -- signed, signed, unsigned integer
+Signed, signed, unsigned integer
+  string.format("%d, %i, %u", -100,-100,-100)
   -100, -100, 4294967196
-  > = string.format("%o, %x, %X", -100,-100,-100)    -- octal, hex, hex
+Octal, hex, hex
+  string.format("%o, %x, %X", -100,-100,-100)
   37777777634, ffffff9c, FFFFFF9C
-{{LUA}}
+Note: if you want a % character to be output as part of your format string, you need to enter %%
+ string.format("Ratio is %u %%",12)
+ Ratio is 12 %
+==== Macro Example ====
+This macro prints out the time remaining on the Polymorph debuff in seconds, rounded to the nearest whole number:
+ /run for i=1,40 do local n,_,_,_,_,_,x,_,_=UnitDebuff("focus",i);if (n=="Polymorph")or (n=="Polymorph(Pig)")or (n=="Polymorph(Turtle)")then SendChatMessage('''format("%.0f"''',-1*(GetTime()-x)).." secs left on "..UnitName("focus").."'s CC!","EMOTE");end end
+== External links ==
+* Lua string reference - https://www.lua.org/pil/20.html
+* GCC printf format - http://www.gnu.org/software/libc/manual/html_node/Formatted-Output.html#Formatted-Output

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