These examples demonstrate the basics of printing using a format string. Printf, Sprintf, and Fprintf all take a format string that specifies how to format the subsequent arguments. For example, %d (we call that a 'verb') says to print the corresponding argument, which must be an integer (or something containing an integer, such as a slice of ints) in decimal. The verb %v ('v' for 'value') always formats the argument in its default form, just how Print or Println would show it. The special verb %T ('T' for 'Type') prints the type of the argument rather than its value. The examples are not exhaustive; see the package comment for all the details.

package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"math"
	"time"
)

func main() {
	// A basic set of examples showing that %v is the default format, in this
	// case decimal for integers, which can be explicitly requested with %d;
	// the output is just what Println generates.
	integer := 23
	// Each of these prints "23" (without the quotes).
	fmt.Println(integer)
	fmt.Printf("%v\n", integer)
	fmt.Printf("%d\n", integer)

	// The special verb %T shows the type of an item rather than its value.
	fmt.Printf("%T %T\n", integer, &integer)
	// Result: int *int

	// Println(x) is the same as Printf("%v\n", x) so we will use only Printf
	// in the following examples. Each one demonstrates how to format values of
	// a particular type, such as integers or strings. We start each format
	// string with %v to show the default output and follow that with one or
	// more custom formats.

	// Booleans print as "true" or "false" with %v or %t.
	truth := true
	fmt.Printf("%v %t\n", truth, truth)
	// Result: true true

	// Integers print as decimals with %v and %d,
	// or in hex with %x, octal with %o, or binary with %b.
	answer := 42
	fmt.Printf("%v %d %x %o %b\n", answer, answer, answer, answer, answer)
	// Result: 42 42 2a 52 101010

	// Floats have multiple formats: %v and %g print a compact representation,
	// while %f prints a decimal point and %e uses exponential notation. The
	// format %6.2f used here shows how to set the width and precision to
	// control the appearance of a floating-point value. In this instance, 6 is
	// the total width of the printed text for the value (note the extra spaces
	// in the output) and 2 is the number of decimal places to show.
	pi := math.Pi
	fmt.Printf("%v %g %.2f (%6.2f) %e\n", pi, pi, pi, pi, pi)
	// Result: 3.141592653589793 3.141592653589793 3.14 (  3.14) 3.141593e+00

	// Complex numbers format as parenthesized pairs of floats, with an 'i'
	// after the imaginary part.
	point := 110.7 + 22.5i
	fmt.Printf("%v %g %.2f %.2e\n", point, point, point, point)
	// Result: (110.7+22.5i) (110.7+22.5i) (110.70+22.50i) (1.11e+02+2.25e+01i)

	// Runes are integers but when printed with %c show the character with that
	// Unicode value. The %q verb shows them as quoted characters, %U as a
	// hex Unicode code point, and %#U as both a code point and a quoted
	// printable form if the rune is printable.
	smile := '😀'
	fmt.Printf("%v %d %c %q %U %#U\n", smile, smile, smile, smile, smile, smile)
	// Result: 128512 128512 😀 '😀' U+1F600 U+1F600 '😀'

	// Strings are formatted with %v and %s as-is, with %q as quoted strings,
	// and %#q as backquoted strings.
	placeholders := `foo "bar"`
	fmt.Printf("%v %s %q %#q\n", placeholders, placeholders, placeholders, placeholders)
	// Result: foo "bar" foo "bar" "foo \"bar\"" `foo "bar"`

	// Maps formatted with %v show keys and values in their default formats.
	// The %#v form (the # is called a "flag" in this context) shows the map in
	// the Go source format. Maps are printed in a consistent order, sorted
	// by the values of the keys.
	isLegume := map[string]bool{
		"peanut":    true,
		"dachshund": false,
	}
	fmt.Printf("%v %#v\n", isLegume, isLegume)
	// Result: map[dachshund:false peanut:true] map[string]bool{"dachshund":false, "peanut":true}

	// Structs formatted with %v show field values in their default formats.
	// The %+v form shows the fields by name, while %#v formats the struct in
	// Go source format.
	person := struct {
		Name string
		Age  int
	}{"Kim", 22}
	fmt.Printf("%v %+v %#v\n", person, person, person)
	// Result: {Kim 22} {Name:Kim Age:22} struct { Name string; Age int }{Name:"Kim", Age:22}

	// The default format for a pointer shows the underlying value preceded by
	// an ampersand. The %p verb prints the pointer value in hex. We use a
	// typed nil for the argument to %p here because the value of any non-nil
	// pointer would change from run to run; run the commented-out Printf
	// call yourself to see.
	pointer := &person
	fmt.Printf("%v %p\n", pointer, (*int)(nil))
	// Result: &{Kim 22} 0x0
	// fmt.Printf("%v %p\n", pointer, pointer)
	// Result: &{Kim 22} 0x010203 // See comment above.

	// Arrays and slices are formatted by applying the format to each element.
	greats := [5]string{"Kitano", "Kobayashi", "Kurosawa", "Miyazaki", "Ozu"}
	fmt.Printf("%v %q\n", greats, greats)
	// Result: [Kitano Kobayashi Kurosawa Miyazaki Ozu] ["Kitano" "Kobayashi" "Kurosawa" "Miyazaki" "Ozu"]

	kGreats := greats[:3]
	fmt.Printf("%v %q %#v\n", kGreats, kGreats, kGreats)
	// Result: [Kitano Kobayashi Kurosawa] ["Kitano" "Kobayashi" "Kurosawa"] []string{"Kitano", "Kobayashi", "Kurosawa"}

	// Byte slices are special. Integer verbs like %d print the elements in
	// that format. The %s and %q forms treat the slice like a string. The %x
	// verb has a special form with the space flag that puts a space between
	// the bytes.
	cmd := []byte("a⌘")
	fmt.Printf("%v %d %s %q %x % x\n", cmd, cmd, cmd, cmd, cmd, cmd)
	// Result: [97 226 140 152] [97 226 140 152] a⌘ "a⌘" 61e28c98 61 e2 8c 98

	// Types that implement Stringer are printed the same as strings. Because
	// Stringers return a string, we can print them using a string-specific
	// verb such as %q.
	now := time.Unix(123456789, 0).UTC() // time.Time implements fmt.Stringer.
	fmt.Printf("%v %q\n", now, now)
	// Result: 1973-11-29 21:33:09 +0000 UTC "1973-11-29 21:33:09 +0000 UTC"

}

23
23
23
int *int
true true
42 42 2a 52 101010
3.141592653589793 3.141592653589793 3.14 (  3.14) 3.141593e+00
(110.7+22.5i) (110.7+22.5i) (110.70+22.50i) (1.11e+02+2.25e+01i)
128512 128512 😀 '😀' U+1F600 U+1F600 '😀'
foo "bar" foo "bar" "foo \"bar\"" `foo "bar"`
map[dachshund:false peanut:true] map[string]bool{"dachshund":false, "peanut":true}
{Kim 22} {Name:Kim Age:22} struct { Name string; Age int }{Name:"Kim", Age:22}
&{Kim 22} 0x0
[Kitano Kobayashi Kurosawa Miyazaki Ozu] ["Kitano" "Kobayashi" "Kurosawa" "Miyazaki" "Ozu"]
[Kitano Kobayashi Kurosawa] ["Kitano" "Kobayashi" "Kurosawa"] []string{"Kitano", "Kobayashi", "Kurosawa"}
[97 226 140 152] [97 226 140 152] a⌘ "a⌘" 61e28c98 61 e2 8c 98
1973-11-29 21:33:09 +0000 UTC "1973-11-29 21:33:09 +0000 UTC"

Print, Println, and Printf lay out their arguments differently. In this example we can compare their behaviors. Println always adds blanks between the items it prints, while Print adds blanks only between non-string arguments and Printf does exactly what it is told. Sprint, Sprintln, Sprintf, Fprint, Fprintln, and Fprintf behave the same as their corresponding Print, Println, and Printf functions shown here.

package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"math"
)

func main() {
	a, b := 3.0, 4.0
	h := math.Hypot(a, b)

	// Print inserts blanks between arguments when neither is a string.
	// It does not add a newline to the output, so we add one explicitly.
	fmt.Print("The vector (", a, b, ") has length ", h, ".\n")

	// Println always inserts spaces between its arguments,
	// so it cannot be used to produce the same output as Print in this case;
	// its output has extra spaces.
	// Also, Println always adds a newline to the output.
	fmt.Println("The vector (", a, b, ") has length", h, ".")

	// Printf provides complete control but is more complex to use.
	// It does not add a newline to the output, so we add one explicitly
	// at the end of the format specifier string.
	fmt.Printf("The vector (%g %g) has length %g.\n", a, b, h)

}

The vector (3 4) has length 5.
The vector ( 3 4 ) has length 5 .
The vector (3 4) has length 5.

The Errorf function lets us use formatting features to create descriptive error messages.

package main

import (
	"fmt"
)

func main() {
	const name, id = "bueller", 17
	err := fmt.Errorf("user %q (id %d) not found", name, id)
	fmt.Println(err.Error())

}

user "bueller" (id 17) not found

package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"os"
)

func main() {
	const name, age = "Kim", 22
	n, err := fmt.Fprint(os.Stdout, name, " is ", age, " years old.\n")

	// The n and err return values from Fprint are
	// those returned by the underlying io.Writer.
	if err != nil {
		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Fprint: %v\n", err)
	}
	fmt.Print(n, " bytes written.\n")

}

Kim is 22 years old.
21 bytes written.

package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"os"
)

func main() {
	const name, age = "Kim", 22
	n, err := fmt.Fprintf(os.Stdout, "%s is %d years old.\n", name, age)

	// The n and err return values from Fprintf are
	// those returned by the underlying io.Writer.
	if err != nil {
		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Fprintf: %v\n", err)
	}
	fmt.Printf("%d bytes written.\n", n)

}

Kim is 22 years old.
21 bytes written.

package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"os"
)

func main() {
	const name, age = "Kim", 22
	n, err := fmt.Fprintln(os.Stdout, name, "is", age, "years old.")

	// The n and err return values from Fprintln are
	// those returned by the underlying io.Writer.
	if err != nil {
		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Fprintln: %v\n", err)
	}
	fmt.Println(n, "bytes written.")

}

Kim is 22 years old.
21 bytes written.

package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"os"
	"strings"
)

func main() {
	var (
		i int
		b bool
		s string
	)
	r := strings.NewReader("5 true gophers")
	n, err := fmt.Fscanf(r, "%d %t %s", &i, &b, &s)
	if err != nil {
		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Fscanf: %v\n", err)
	}
	fmt.Println(i, b, s)
	fmt.Println(n)
}

5 true gophers
3

package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"io"
	"strings"
)

func main() {
	s := `dmr 1771 1.61803398875
	ken 271828 3.14159`
	r := strings.NewReader(s)
	var a string
	var b int
	var c float64
	for {
		n, err := fmt.Fscanln(r, &a, &b, &c)
		if err == io.EOF {
			break
		}
		if err != nil {
			panic(err)
		}
		fmt.Printf("%d: %s, %d, %f\n", n, a, b, c)
	}
}

3: dmr, 1771, 1.618034
3: ken, 271828, 3.141590

package main

import (
	"fmt"
)

func main() {
	const name, age = "Kim", 22
	fmt.Print(name, " is ", age, " years old.\n")

	// It is conventional not to worry about any
	// error returned by Print.

}

Kim is 22 years old.

package main

import (
	"fmt"
)

func main() {
	const name, age = "Kim", 22
	fmt.Printf("%s is %d years old.\n", name, age)

	// It is conventional not to worry about any
	// error returned by Printf.

}

Kim is 22 years old.

package main

import (
	"fmt"
)

func main() {
	const name, age = "Kim", 22
	fmt.Println(name, "is", age, "years old.")

	// It is conventional not to worry about any
	// error returned by Println.

}

Kim is 22 years old.

package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"io"
	"os"
)

func main() {
	const name, age = "Kim", 22
	s := fmt.Sprint(name, " is ", age, " years old.\n")

	io.WriteString(os.Stdout, s) // Ignoring error for simplicity.

}

Kim is 22 years old.

package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"io"
	"os"
)

func main() {
	const name, age = "Kim", 22
	s := fmt.Sprintf("%s is %d years old.\n", name, age)

	io.WriteString(os.Stdout, s) // Ignoring error for simplicity.

}

Kim is 22 years old.

package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"io"
	"os"
)

func main() {
	const name, age = "Kim", 22
	s := fmt.Sprintln(name, "is", age, "years old.")

	io.WriteString(os.Stdout, s) // Ignoring error for simplicity.

}

Kim is 22 years old.

package main

import (
	"fmt"
)

func main() {
	var name string
	var age int
	n, err := fmt.Sscanf("Kim is 22 years old", "%s is %d years old", &name, &age)
	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}
	fmt.Printf("%d: %s, %d\n", n, name, age)

}

2: Kim, 22

package main

import (
	"fmt"
)

// Address has a City, State and a Country.
type Address struct {
	City    string
	State   string
	Country string
}

// Person has a Name, Age and Address.
type Person struct {
	Name string
	Age  uint
	Addr *Address
}

// GoString makes Person satisfy the GoStringer interface.
// The return value is valid Go code that can be used to reproduce the Person struct.
func (p Person) GoString() string {
	if p.Addr != nil {
		return fmt.Sprintf("Person{Name: %q, Age: %d, Addr: &Address{City: %q, State: %q, Country: %q}}", p.Name, int(p.Age), p.Addr.City, p.Addr.State, p.Addr.Country)
	}
	return fmt.Sprintf("Person{Name: %q, Age: %d}", p.Name, int(p.Age))
}

func main() {
	p1 := Person{
		Name: "Warren",
		Age:  31,
		Addr: &Address{
			City:    "Denver",
			State:   "CO",
			Country: "U.S.A.",
		},
	}
	// If GoString() wasn't implemented, the output of `fmt.Printf("%#v", p1)` would be similar to
	// Person{Name:"Warren", Age:0x1f, Addr:(*main.Address)(0x10448240)}
	fmt.Printf("%#v\n", p1)

	p2 := Person{
		Name: "Theia",
		Age:  4,
	}
	// If GoString() wasn't implemented, the output of `fmt.Printf("%#v", p2)` would be similar to
	// Person{Name:"Theia", Age:0x4, Addr:(*main.Address)(nil)}
	fmt.Printf("%#v\n", p2)

}

Person{Name: "Warren", Age: 31, Addr: &Address{City: "Denver", State: "CO", Country: "U.S.A."}}
Person{Name: "Theia", Age: 4}

package main

import (
	"fmt"
)

// Animal has a Name and an Age to represent an animal.
type Animal struct {
	Name string
	Age  uint
}

// String makes Animal satisfy the Stringer interface.
func (a Animal) String() string {
	return fmt.Sprintf("%v (%d)", a.Name, a.Age)
}

func main() {
	a := Animal{
		Name: "Gopher",
		Age:  2,
	}
	fmt.Println(a)
}

Gopher (2)