MATLAB Programming

2 Data Types
Precision is not usually used in format specifiers for strings (i.e., %s). If you
do use it on a string and if the value p in the precision field is less than the
number of characters in the string, MATLAB displays only p characters of the
string and truncates the rest.
You can also supply the value for a precision field from outside of the format
specifier. See the section “Specifying Field Width and Precision Outside the
format String” on page 2-53 for more information on this.
For more information on the use of precision in formatting, see “Setting
Field Width and Precision” on page 2-52.
Field Width. Field width in a formatting operator is a nonnegative integer
that tells MATLAB the minimum number of digits or characters to use when
formatting the corresponding input value. For example, the specifier %7.3f,
has a width of 7.
Herearesomeexamplesofhowthewidth field affects different types of
notation:
sprintf('|%e|%15e|%f|%15f|', pi*50*ones(1,4))
ans =
|1.570796e+002| 1.570796e+002|157.079633| 157.079633|
When used on a string, the field width can determine whether MATLAB
pads the string with spaces. If width is less than or equal to the number of
characters in the string, it has no effect.
sprintf('%30s', 'Pad left with spaces')
ans =
Pad left with spaces
You can also supply a value for field width from outside of the format
specifier. See the section “Specifying Field Width and Precision Outside the
format String” on page 2-53 for more information on this.
For more information on the use of field width in formatting, see “Setting
Field Width and Precision” on page 2-52.
2-50