printf: printf [-v var] format [arguments]

Formats and prints ARGUMENTS under control of the FORMAT.

Options

-v var assign the output to shell variable VAR rather than

display it on the standard output

FORMAT is a character string which contains three types of objects: plain characters, which are simply copied to standard output; character escape sequences, which are converted and copied to the standard output; and format specifications, each of which causes printing of the next successive argument.

In addition to the standard format specifications described in printf(1) and printf(3), printf interprets:

      %b        expand backslash escape sequences in the corresponding argument
      %q        quote the argument in a way that can be reused as shell input

Exit Status:
Returns success unless an invalid option is given or a write or assignment error occurs.