Lua .format()

The .format() method is used to create formatted strings by replacing placeholders with specified values.

Syntax

string.format(format, value1, value2, ...)

• format: A format string that defines the structure of the output string. It contains placeholders and formatting options.
• value1, value2, etc. (optional): Values to be inserted into the placeholders within the format string.

Here are some common placeholders and formatting options:

%s: Placeholder for a string. %d or %i: Placeholder for an integer. %f: Placeholder for a floating-point number (decimal). %x or %X: Placeholder for a hexadecimal number. %.nf: Designates the number of decimal places (e.g. %.2f for two decimal places). %c: Placeholder for a character. %%: Literal % character.

The following example demonstrates an implementation of string.format() :

Example 1

local name = "Angel"
local height = 5.587
local age = 20

local formatted = string.format("Hello, my name is %s, I am %.1f ft tall and I am %d years old.", name, height, age)
print(formatted)

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This will return the following output:

Hello, my name is Angel, I am 5.6 ft tall and I am 20 years old.

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Example 2

The following example demonstrates the use of string.format() with a hexadecimal value.

local number = 255

local formatted = string.format("Hexadecimal: %X", number)
print(formatted)

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This will return the following output:

Hexadecimal: FF

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