PHP reference

sprintf

Returns a string built from a format template.

Available since: PHP 4

Syntax

sprintf(string $format, mixed ...$values): string

Parameter	Type	Description
$format	string	A template with placeholders: `%s` for a string, `%d` for an integer, `%f` for a float.
...$values	mixed	The values substituted for the placeholders, in order.

stringThe formatted string.

Substituting a string and a number:

<?php
 
echo sprintf('%s is %d years old', 'Anna', 25);

Output:

Anna is 25 years old

Decimal places and zero padding:

<?php
 
echo sprintf('%.2f', 3.14159), "\n";
echo sprintf('%05d', 42);

Output:

3.14
00042

The function returns the string without printing it. To print the result straight away, use printf() with the same arguments.

Strings — Working with strings in PHP — quotes, concatenation, length, searching, replacing and multibyte functions.