# vfprintf

(PHP 5, PHP 7)

vfprintf — Write a formatted string to a stream

### Description

vfprintf ( resource `$handle` , string `$format` , array `$args` ) : int

Write a string produced according to `format` to the stream resource specified by `handle`.

Operates as fprintf() but accepts an array of arguments, rather than a variable number of arguments.

### Parameters

`handle`

`format`

  The format string is composed of zero or more directives: ordinary characters (excluding %) that are copied directly to the result and conversion specifications, each of which results in fetching its own parameter.

  A conversion specification follows this prototype: %[argnum$][flags][width][.precision]specifier.

  ##### Argnum

  An integer followed by a dollar sign $, to specify which number argument to treat in the conversion.

  Flags
  Flag | Description
  --- | ---
  - | Left-justify within the given field width; Right justification is the default
  + | Prefix positive numbers with a plus sign +; Default only negative are prefixed with a negative sign.
  (space) | Pads the result with spaces. This is the default.
  0 | Only left-pads numbers with zeros. With s specifiers this can also right-pad with zeros.
  '(char) | Pads the result with the character (char).

  ##### Width

  An integer that says how many characters (minimum) this conversion should result in.

  ##### Precision

  A period . followed by an integer who's meaning depends on the specifier:

  - For e, E, f and F specifiers: this is the number of digits to be printed after the decimal point (by default, this is 6).
  - For g and G specifiers: this is the maximum number of significant digits to be printed.
  - For s specifier: it acts as a cutoff point, setting a maximum character limit to the string.

  > Note: If the period is specified without an explicit value for precision, 0 is assumed.

  > Note: Attempting to use a position specifier greater than `PHP_INT_MAX` will generate warnings.

  Specifiers
  Specifier | Description
  --- | ---
  % | A literal percent character. No argument is required.
  b | The argument is treated as an integer and presented as a binary number.
  c | The argument is treated as an integer and presented as the character with that ASCII.
  d | The argument is treated as an integer and presented as a (signed) decimal number.
  e | The argument is treated as scientific notation (e.g. 1.2e+2). The precision specifier stands for the number of digits after the decimal point since PHP 5.2.1. In earlier versions, it was taken as number of significant digits (one less).
  E | Like the e specifier but uses uppercase letter (e.g. 1.2E+2).
  f | The argument is treated as a float and presented as a floating-point number (locale aware).
  F | The argument is treated as a float and presented as a floating-point number (non-locale aware). Available as of PHP 5.0.3.
  g | General format. Let P equal the precision if nonzero, 6 if the precision is omitted, or 1 if the precision is zero. Then, if a conversion with style E would have an exponent of X: If P > X ≥ −4, the conversion is with style f and precision P − (X + 1). Otherwise, the conversion is with style e and precision P − 1.
  G | Like the g specifier but uses E and F.
  o | The argument is treated as an integer and presented as an octal number.
  s | The argument is treated and presented as a string.
  u | The argument is treated as an integer and presented as an unsigned decimal number.
  x | The argument is treated as an integer and presented as a hexadecimal number (with lowercase letters).
  X | The argument is treated as an integer and presented as a hexadecimal number (with uppercase letters).

  Warning

  The c type specifier ignores padding and width

  Warning

  Attempting to use a combination of the string and width specifiers with character sets that require more than one byte per character may result in unexpected results

  Variables will be co-erced to a suitable type for the specifier:

  Type Handling
  Type | Specifiers
  --- | ---
  string | s
  integer | d, u, c, o, x, X, b
  double | g, G, e, E, f, F

`args`

### Return Values

Returns the length of the outputted string.

### Examples

Example #1 vfprintf(): zero-padded integers

`<?php
if (!($fp = fopen('date.txt', 'w')))
return;
vfprintf($fp, "%04d-%02d-%02d", array($year, $month, $day));
// will write the formatted ISO date to date.txt
?>`

### See Also

- printf() - Output a formatted string
- sprintf() - Return a formatted string
- fprintf() - Write a formatted string to a stream
- vprintf() - Output a formatted string
- vsprintf() - Return a formatted string
- sscanf() - Parses input from a string according to a format
- fscanf() - Parses input from a file according to a format
- number_format() - Format a number with grouped thousands
- date() - Format a local time/date