### 12.12 Formatted Output ¶

The functions described in this section (`printf` and related functions) provide a convenient way to perform formatted output. You call `printf` with a format string or template string that specifies how to format the values of the remaining arguments.

Unless your program is a filter that specifically performs line- or character-oriented processing, using `printf` or one of the other related functions described in this section is usually the easiest and most concise way to perform output. These functions are especially useful for printing error messages, tables of data, and the like.