1. Percent (%) Formatting — The Old C-Style

• This is the classic way of formatting strings, inspired by the C language.

    name = "EJ"
    age = 28
    print("My name is %s and I am %d years old." % (name, age))
  

• Common format codes

  • %s: string

  • %d: integer

  • %f: float

• You can also control decimal places:

    pi = 3.14159
    print("PI is %.2f" % pi)  # PI is 3.14
  

⚠️ Although it’s still supported, this method is considered outdated.

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2. format() Method — More Powerful & Flexible

• Introduced in Python 2.7+, this approach offers more control and readability.

    print("My name is {} and I am {} years old.".format(name, age))
  

• Use placeholders with indexes or variable names:

    print("Name: {0}, Age: {1}".format(name, age))
    print("Name: {name}, Age: {age}".format(name=name, age=age))
  

• Format floats easily:

    print("PI is {:.3f}".format(pi))  # PI is 3.142
  

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3. f-Strings — The Modern, Cleanest Way (Python 3.6+)

• If you're using Python 3.6 or later, this is the go-to method. It’s concise, readable, and supports expressions directly inside the string.

    print(f"My name is {name} and I am {age} years old.")
  

• Supports inline expressions:

    print(f"Next year, I’ll be {age + 1} years old.")
  

• Formatting numbers:

    print(f"PI is {pi:.2f}")  # PI is 3.14
  

• Text alignment:

    print(f"|{'left':<10}|{'center':^10}|{'right':>10}|")
    # Output: |left      |  center  |     right|
  

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4. Conclusion

While all three formatting methods are still usable, f-strings are by far the most Pythonic and preferred way to format your output today. If you're working in Python 3.6 or higher, make f-strings your default choice!

💬 Have a favorite formatting trick or want to share how you use print() in real projects? Drop a comment below!