formatting a number

[Anon]

How can I echo in html form a number declared as int(11) from a sql columm result with (N) zeros before, like for example, the number 5 would be 005 with two zeros before, or number five with three zeros before like 0005.

I know this is possible with mysql, but I also would like to know if there is a function in php that formats numbers the way explained above.

God bless you with your help

Thanks

[Anon]

You could always write something yourself:

function zero_format($number, $length) {
// $number is the number to format, $length is where we want the total length of the number with leading zeros

$x = $length - strlen($number); // number of zeros we want to add
for ($i = 0; $i < $x; $i++)
$number = "0".$number;

return $number;
}

.. get creative ;-)

Hope that helps:

Chris King

[Anon]

I use this:

// Function: lpad
// ********************************
// Purpose: left pad a string to a specified length,
// or trim it from the right to that length
// if too long
// Inputs: $inStr - String to be padded
// $len - length of desired out put string
// $with - [optional] character(s) to use in padding
// (defaults to space " ")
// To Do: improper input error handling
// ********************************
function lpad($inStr, $len, $with = " ") {
// if inStr needs padding
if (strlen($inStr) < $len) {
$rStr = $inStr; // the string to be padded
$lStr = ""; // the padding
// make sure $inStr + $with isn't longer than $len
if ((strlen($inStr) + strlen($with)) < $len) {
// add $with to the padding as many times as it will fit
for ($i=strlen($inStr);$i<$len;$i+=strlen($with)) {
$lStr .= $with;
}
}
// stick the values together
$outStr = $lStr . $rStr;
// if its still not long enough
if (strlen($outStr) != $len) {
// tack on a enough of $with to the middle to make up the difference
$outStr = $lStr . substr($with,0,($len-strlen($outStr))) . $rStr;
}
// off to the races
return $outStr;
}
// $inStr too long
else {
// shrink it down (chopping off the left most chars.)
return substr($inStr,-$len);
}
}

[Anon]

the sprintf function (included in php3) can be used to pad numbers or string, saves you having to write new code.

cheers. nick