Format a String in C++ with the same convenience as String.format() in Java 5 / 6? [duplicate]

Question

Is there a common function available to be able to do sprintf type String formatting without having to supply a fixed size buffer, that returns a string class instance?

I know about stringstream it doesn't do what I want, I don't want to hard code the position of the tokens in the output statement like it requires.

I want to be able to define a pattern like sprintf lets you, but without the C baggage and in a more idiomatic Object Oriented C++ manner.

Maybe some function that does what sprintf does using a stringstream and produces a string object? Something along the line of the convenience of what String.format() does in Java or the equivalent String formatting syntax in Python.

Answer 1

The Boost Format Library:

The <boost/format.hpp> format class provides printf-like formatting, in a type-safe manner which allows output of user-defined types.