Python3 string formatting with multiple parameters

Question

I'm writing to a text file where i want a field of a formatted string to be left-justified AND have 2-digit float precision.

Sample input (does not work):

txt = "We have {:.2f <8} chickens."
print(txt.format(0.123124234123412341324))

Desired output:

0.12 (left justified, with 8 spaces)

Answer 1

Per the Python Format Specification Mini-Language, alignment specifiers (e.g. <) and width specifiers (e.g. 8) must precede the floating point precision specifier (e.g. .2). With this criteria in mind, the correct formulation for your format string is {:<8.2f}:

txt = "We have {:<8.2f} chickens."
print(txt.format(0.123124234123412341324))

Output:

We have 0.12     chickens.