format specifier
the output value is specified by a format specifier – begins with a percent sign % – ends with a lettere.g. %d and %12d d = integer 12 = minimum of 12 spaced to be useds = stringf – floating point formeg. % 1.2f 2 = two digits after decimal 1 = specifies the minimum characters to output (as many characters as necessary should be used )e.g. 15.8e (exponential)8 = how many digits after the decimal point