Syntax of Format Codes
The syntax of an IDL format code is:
[n]FC[+][-][width]
Where:
n | is an optional repeat count (1 ≤ n) specifying the number of times the format code should be processed. If nis not specified, a repeat count of one is used. |
FC | is the format code. See Available Format Codes, below. |
+ | is an optional flag that specifies that positive numbers should be output with a “+” prefix. The “+” flag is only valid for numeric format codes. Normally, negative numbers are output with a “-” prefix and positive numbers have no sign prefix. Non-decimal numeric codes (B, O, and Z) allow the specification of the “+” flag, but ignore it. |
- | is an optional flag that specifies that string or numeric values should be output with the text left-justified. Normally, output is right-justified. |
width | is an optional width specification. Width specifications and default values are format-code specific, and are described in detail along with the format code. See Padding and Natural Width Formatting, below, for additional information on how output values are formatted based on the width parameter. |
Padding and Natural Width Formatting
The value being formatted may be shorter than the output width specified by the width parameter. When this happens, IDL will adjust either the contents of the output value or the width of the field, using the following mechanisms:
Whitespace Padding
By default, if the value being formatted uses fewer characters than specified by the width parameter, IDL pads the value with whitespace characters on the left to create a string of the specified width. For example, the following IDL statement
PRINT, FORMAT='(I12)', 300
produces the following output:
bbbbbbbbb300
where b represents a space character.
Zero Padding
For numeric format codes, if the first digit of the width parameter is a zero, IDL will pad the value with zeroes rather than blanks. For example:
PRINT, FORMAT='(I08)', 300
produces the following output:
00000300
When padding values with zeroes, note the following:
- If you specify the “-” flag to left-justify the output, specifying a leading zero in the width parameter has no effect, since there are no unused spaces to the left of the output value.
- If you specify an explicit minimum width value (via the m width parameter) for an integer format code, specifying a leading zero in the width parameter has no effect, since the output value is already padded with zeroes on the left to create an output value of the specified minimum width.
Natural Width Formatting
If the numeral zero is specified for the width parameter, IDL uses the “natural” width for the value. The value is read or output using a default format without any leading or trailing whitespace, in the style of the standard C library printf()function.
Using a value of zero for the width parameter is useful when reading tables of data in which individual elements may be of varying lengths. For example, if your data reside in tables of the following form:
26.01 92.555 344.2
101.0 6.123 99.845
23.723 200.02 141.93
Setting the format to:
FORMAT = '(3F0)'
ensures that the correct number of digits are read or output for each element.
Available Format Codes
IDL supports the following format codes:
Format Code | Description |
Transfers character values | |
Terminates processing | |
Suppresses newlines in output | |
Transfer floating-point values | |
Transfer integer values | |
Returns the number of characters that remain to be transferred during a read operation | |
Output string values directly | |
Specifies the absolute position within a record | |
Moves the position with a record to the left | |
Move the position within a record to the right | |
Transfers calendar data | |
Provides an alternative syntax for specifying the format of an output string |
Format Code Examples
For examples using different format codes, see:
- Example: Reading Records With Multiple Array Elements
Format Code Examples
The following table shows the results of the application of various format codes to given data values. Note that normally, the case of the format code is ignored by IDL. However, the case of the E and G format codes determines the case used to output the exponent in scientific notation.
Format
Internal Value
Formatted Output
F
100.0
bbbb100.0000000
F
100.0D
bbbbb100.0000000000000000
F10.0
100.0
bbbbbb100.
F10.1
100.0
bbbbb100.0
F10.4
100.0
bb100.0000
F2.1
100.0
**
e11.4
100.0
b1.0000e+02
1.0000e+002 (Windows)
Note that “e10.4” displays “**********” under Windows because the extra “0” added after the “e” makes the string longer than 10 characters.
E11.4
100.0
b1.0000E+02
1.0000E+002 (Windows)
g10.4
100.0
bbbbb100.0
g10.4
10000000.0
b1.000e+07
1.000e+007 (Windows)
G10.4
10000000.0
b1.000E+07
1.000E+007 (Windows)