Python %s - String Formatting

In this tutorial, we will learn about how we can implement and use %s in our Python program. We will also learn the uses of %s in the strings.

%s in a string format in Python

Basically, the % symbol is used with a large variety of data having many data types and configurations in Python.

Talking about %s, it is specifically used to perform concatenation of two or more strings together in Python. The %s allow us to format or place a string or numerical value within a given string. In simple language, the %s in Python is used to incorporate a given string within another string. This operator automatically provides type conversion of a given value to string data type.

We put the % operator, where we have to specify the string. The numbers of values that we want to append into the given string should be equal to the numbers of %s operators that have been specified in the parentheses between the strings.

The following Python code will explain the way by which we perform string formatting using %s operator:

Example -

Output:

Hello Python developers! Welcome to, JavaTpoint!

As we can see in the above code, we have declared a string variable, i.e., str, and appended it inside the given string in parenthesis. We appended the str string value using the %s operator.

Uses of %s operator in Python

In this section, we will discuss the highlighted uses of the %s operator. We will also learn the implementation of the %s operator by multiple approaches and how it is helpful to us.

We will discuss the following approaches of implementing %s:

1. Multiple %s in a string
2. Using %s for mapping string
3. Using %s for a list as a string
4. Order Dictionary with %s

1. Multiple %s in a string:

We can use the %s operator to append the given string variable inside a string by putting it where we want to add the value. Python will simply add the string variables where we have used the %s operator in the string. Let's go through an example to understand it.

Example: Look at the following code:

Output:

Hello Python developers, Welcome to the JavaTpoint! We hope you are having a good day.

Explanation -

We have appended multiple string variables (mkr1, mkr2, mkr3) inside a single string and printed the string. We have appended these variables by simply using the %s operator multiple times within the string.

2. Using %s for mapping string:

We can also use the %s operator for mapping the string within the given program. We can map multiple string variables into a single string by simply using %s operators multiple times. However, when we want to add multiple string variables in a single string, we have to match the number of occurrences of %s in the string with the number of strings to replace it. We have to add that number of strings after the % operator.

Example: 1

Output:

Resultant mapped string using '%s' operator:
Hey Python Developers Welcome to JavaTpoint

Note: But, if we don't give the same number of string variables after % operator, as the %s operator we have used, then the code will through a TypeError in the output like the following program:

Example - 2

Output:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "C:\Users\Manish\Downloads\code.py", line 9, in 
    ResultantStr = "%s %s %s %s %s %s" % (mkr1, mkr2, mkr4, mkr5, mkr6)
TypeError: not enough arguments for format string

3. Using %s for a list as a string:

With the help of the %s operator, we can also map a given list data type variable with the string variables to form a single string. We have to follow the same set of instructions that we follow while mapping string variables. Let's go through an example to understand it.

Example:

Output:

Resultant mapped string with list variable in it:
Hey Python Developers Welcome to JavaTpoint, ['Java', 'Python', 'C++', 'HTML', 'JavaScript']

4. Order dictionary with %s:

We can define multiple string variables inside a dictionary data type variable. Then, we can call out these string variables by the order we want to, just by using the %s operator with the string variable name.

Example:

Output:

Resultant mapped string with ordered variable from dictionary: 
Learning %s operator concept at JavaTpoint