Catman...:format(3pm)

✨ Catmandu::Fix::format — the manual page, but make it cute ✨

okay bestie so we're looking at Catmandu::Fix::format, from the User Contributed Perl Documentation, and it's literally the glow-up your values have been waiting for 💅

---

💖 NAME 💖

Catmandu::Fix::format — swaps your value out for a formatted, sprintf-ish version of it. it's giving makeover montage 🎀

---

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

okay so here's the whole vibe, example by example:

# e.g. number: 41
format(number,"%-10.10d") # number => "0000000041"

# e.g. numbers:
#         - 41
#         - 15
format(number,"%-10.10d %-5.5d") # numbers => "0000000041 00015"

# e.g. hash:
#        name: Albert
format(name,"%-10s: %s") # hash: "name      : Albert"

# e.g. array:
#         - 1
format(array,"%d %d %d") # Fails! The array contains only one value, but you request 3 values

# Test first if the array contains 3 values
if exists(array.2)
  format(array,"%d %d %d")
end

not the array example calling you out in public 😭 yes, format(array,"%d %d %d") Fails! because the array contains only one value but you're out here requesting 3 values. the audacity. so the fix is right there: test first if the array contains 3 values, then format. 🫶

---

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

bestie, this fix creates a string formatted by the usual printf conventions of the C library function sprintf. that's the whole thing. the way that it just... hands the formatting over to sprintf and lets it cook 👑

want the full rundown? see <http://perldoc.perl.org/functions/sprintf.html> for a complete description. iykyk ✨

---

👑 SEE ALSO 👑

• Catmandu::Fix
• sprintf

---

and that's the page, no cap 💜

this was pulled from the docs as of 2026-01-24, shipped with perl v5.40.1, and yes it's Catman...:format(3pm) at the bottom too, mwah 💋 go format something iconic, bestie 🌈⭐