Extra digits with printf Hex

Question

Why do I get extra digits after the string of Hex digits when using printf?

cout << printf("%06X ", 0xABCDEF);

produces: ABCDEF 7

So where does the 7 come from and how can I get rid of it?

Answer 1

You need to use either cout or printf, not both.

printf("%06X ", 0xABCDEF);

Or

cout << hex << 0xABCDEF;

When you do both, the cout prints the result of the printf function, which is the number of characters printed (six characters and a space).

Answer 2

You're passing the result of the printf operation to cout.

Generally speaking, you use either printf or cout.

printf("%06X",0xABCDEF); //will do what you want in a C-like way

and

std::cout << std::hex << 0xABCDEF; //is the C++ iostream way