Provided by: coreutils_8.30-3ubuntu2_amd64 
NAME
printf - format and print data
SYNOPSIS
printf FORMAT [ARGUMENT]...
printf OPTION
DESCRIPTION
Print ARGUMENT(s) according to FORMAT, or execute according to OPTION:
--help display this help and exit
--version
output version information and exit
FORMAT controls the output as in C printf. Interpreted sequences are:
\" double quote
\\ backslash
\a alert (BEL)
\b backspace
\c produce no further output
\e escape
\f form feed
\n new line
\r carriage return
\t horizontal tab
\v vertical tab
\NNN byte with octal value NNN (1 to 3 digits)
\xHH byte with hexadecimal value HH (1 to 2 digits)
\uHHHH Unicode (ISO/IEC 10646) character with hex value HHHH (4 digits)
\UHHHHHHHH
Unicode character with hex value HHHHHHHH (8 digits)
%% a single %
%b ARGUMENT as a string with '\' escapes interpreted, except that octal escapes are of
the form \0 or \0NNN
%q ARGUMENT is printed in a format that can be reused as shell input, escaping
non-printable characters with the proposed POSIX $'' syntax.
and all C format specifications ending with one of diouxXfeEgGcs, with ARGUMENTs converted
to proper type first. Variable widths are handled.
NOTE: your shell may have its own version of printf, which usually supersedes the version
described here. Please refer to your shell's documentation for details about the options
it supports.
AUTHOR
Written by David MacKenzie.
REPORTING BUGS
GNU coreutils online help: <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/>
Report printf translation bugs to <https://translationproject.org/team/>
COPYRIGHT
Copyright © 2018 Free Software Foundation, Inc. License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or
later <https://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>.
This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it. There is NO WARRANTY,
to the extent permitted by law.
SEE ALSO
printf(3)
Full documentation at: <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/printf>
or available locally via: info '(coreutils) printf invocation'