Rust Foundations · 10 min · free with an account

Printing Values

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A format string is a checked template: each placeholder has a value, and the finished line follows the template exactly, including spaces and alignment.

Core idea

Every formatting placeholder must have a value known to println!.

Start with the idea

println! takes a format string and turns values into a line on stdout. In the example, {name} and {builds} capture bindings with those names. The macro checks the placeholders while compiling, so a misspelled capture or missing positional argument becomes a diagnostic before the program runs. This is safer than assembling a message with a chain of ad hoc string additions, especially when the output becomes a log line or a table someone else must read.

Formatting controls presentation without changing the stored value. In {builds:>3}, the colon introduces a format specification: > right-aligns the value in a field three characters wide. With builds = 4, that line begins with two spaces and then 4. Predict the whitespace rather than relying on how a proportional font looks. Try replacing a named capture with {} and pass the value explicitly; then remove the argument and observe how rustc identifies the mismatch.

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