What does the %*s format specifier mean?

Question

It's used to specify, in a dynamic way, what the width of the field is:

• The width is not specified in the format string, but as an additional integer value argument preceding the argument that has to be formatted.

so "indent" specifies how much space to allocate for the string that follows it in the parameter list.

So,

printf("%*s", 5, "");

is the same as

printf("%5s", "");

It's a nice way to put some spaces in your file, avoiding a loop.

Don't use "%*s" on a buffer which is not NULL terminated (packed) thinking that it will print only "length" field.

The format specifier %4s outputs a String in a field width of 4—that is, printf displays the value with at least 4 character positions.

If the value to be output is less than 4 character positions wide, the value is right justified in the field by default.

If the value is greater than 4 character positions wide, the field width expands to accommodate the appropriate number of characters.

To left justify the value, use a negative integer to specify the field width.

References: Java™ How To Program (Early Objects), Tenth Edition

When used in printf and fprintf:

printf("%*s", 4, myValue); is equivalent to printf("%4s", myValue);

It displays the variable with minimum width, rest right-justified spaces. To left-justify the value, use a negative integer.

When used in scanf and sscanf:

/* sscanf example */
#include <stdio.h>

int main ()
{
  char sentence []="Rudolph is 12 years old";
  char str [20];
  int i;

  sscanf (sentence,"%s %*s %d",str,&i);
  printf ("%s -> %d\n",str,i);
  
  return 0;
}

Output:

Rudolph -> 12

It is used to ignore a string.