Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!sdd.hp.com!hp-pcd!hpcvia!brianh
From: brianh@hpcvia.CV.HP.COM (brian_helterline)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: print format
Message-ID: <31530014@hpcvia.CV.HP.COM>
Date: 6 Aug 90 15:47:07 GMT
References: <1990Aug2.162651.8083@uunet!unhd>
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Co., Corvallis, Oregon
Lines: 31

>Is there a way to specify the format in a print statement with a variable.
>What I want to do is print out a group of strings so they are all right
>justified on the right side with the largest string.  (example)
>
>	format = sizeof(largest_string);
>	for (i=0;array[i];i++)
>		printf("%[format]s\n",array[i]);
>			     ^^^^^^^^
>				 this is what I want to do.
>
>I realize I can write a routine to do this, but I am going to be doing it
>quite a bit and would like to keep the CPU time down to a minimum. Does anyone
>have any ideas?         
>						Thank you.
>
>
>-- 
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>----------

How about this:

	/* char string[10];  declare this somewhere */

	sprintf( string, "%%%ds\n", sizeof(largest_string));
	/* string now looks like "%25s\n" or equiv. */
	for (i=0;array[i];i++)
		printf(string,array[i]);