Setting fixed length with python

Question

I have str that are like \'60\' or \'100\'. I need the str to be \'00060\' and \'00100\',

How can i do this? code is something like this: I was using \'0\'+\'0\'+

Answer 1

Reading your favorite Python documentation appreciated:

http://docs.python.org/library/string.html#formatstrings

"""

If the width field is preceded by a zero ('0') character, this enables zero-padding. This is equivalent to an alignment type of '=' and a fill character of '0'. """

Answer 2

If it's already a string you might want to use the .zfill() method.

myval.fill(5)

Answer 3

If "60" is already a string, you have to convert it to a number before applying the formatting. The most practical one works just like C's printf:

a  ="60"
b = "%05d" % int(a)

Answer 4

Since you are manipulating strings, str.zfill() does exactly what you want.

>>> s1, s2 = '60', '100'
>>> print s1.zfill(5), s2.zfill(5)
00060 00100

Answer 5

Like this:

num = 60 
formatted_num = u'%05d' % num

See the docs for more information about formatting numbers as strings.

If your number is already a string (as your updated question indicates), you can pad it with zeros to the right width using the rjust string method:

num = u'60'
formatted_num = num.rjust(5, u'0')