arrange your string in python

Question

for k, v in country_cap_dict.items():
    print "%s : %s" % (k,v)

my for loop is giving me output like this

           US : Washington
           Canada : Ottawa
           Germany: Berlin
           France : Paris
           England : London
           Switzerland : Bern
           Austria : Vienna
           Netherlands : Amsterdam

How can I improve readability so that output looks like:

           US :          Washington
           Canada :      Ottawa
           Germany:      Berlin
           France :      Paris
           England :     London
           Switzerland : Bern
           Austria :     Vienna
           Netherlands : Amsterdam

Calvin Froedge · Answer 1 · 2014-09-11T17:30:09.623

1

You can use C style string formatting in Python:

http://www.diveintopython.net/native_data_types/formatting_strings.html

So, you can specify how much padding to give.

'%-24s %s' % ("US", "Washington")
'%-24s %s' % ("Brazil", "Washington") //padded to 24 spaces width between

Result:

'US                       Washington'
'Brazil                   Washington'

edited Sep 11 '14 at 17:30

answered Sep 11 '14 at 17:09

Calvin Froedge

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It just shifts all values by the distance of 24 spaces. I don't want that. I want all the values of the dictionary to be properly alligned. Say in one vertical column like I mentioned in my post. – tryPy Sep 11 '14 at 17:26

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Sep 11 '14 at 17:10

0

Add '\t' after the first %s like so:

print "%s : \t%s" % (k,v)

answered Sep 11 '14 at 17:10

tomer.z

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Use the formatting operator with field widths, it's much more flexible. – alexis Sep 11 '14 at 19:04

arrange your string in python

2 Answers2