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Formatting a data file

  • 18-03-2021 1:00pm
    #1
    funkey_monkey
    Registered Users Posts: 8,052 ✭✭✭


    Hi,

    I've got a data file which I need re-format in order that it can be input to an old piece of analysis software.
    Basically I need to adjust gaps between columns of data and also right justify some data.

    What is the best way to go about doing this?


    Thanks.


Comments

  • #2
    Seth Brundle
    Moderators, Politics Moderators Posts: 38,805 Mod ✭✭✭✭Seth Brundle


    Excel?


  • #3
    funkey_monkey
    Registered Users Posts: 8,052 ✭✭✭funkey_monkey


    I'm doing it in Python - found a script which does something similar.

    How do I ensure a number such as 12.258 is presented as 000012.258 in Python?


  • #4
    StupidLikeAFox
    Registered Users Posts: 7,697 ✭✭✭StupidLikeAFox


    This should help:

    https://stackoverflow.com/questions/339007/how-to-pad-zeroes-to-a-string


  • #5
    funkey_monkey
    Registered Users Posts: 8,052 ✭✭✭funkey_monkey


    Thanks - found zfill when searching and it seems to have done what I need.


  • #6
    JoyPad
    Registered Users Posts: 1,701 ✭✭✭JoyPad


    funkey_monkey wrote: »
    I'm doing it in Python - found a script which does something similar.

    How do I ensure a number such as 12.258 is presented as 000012.258 in Python?

    >>> print("%010.3f" % 12.345)
000012.345

    "f" is for floating point values, and it has two numbers, separated by a dot:
    %M.Nf means M total digits (including the decimal point), of which N are decimal places. Prefixing M with a 0 means showing leading zeroes, instead of spaces.

    So, in the example above, we have 10 total digits, of which 6 will be allocated for the integer part, and 3 for the decimal places, leaving one for the dot.

    If you have a number of fields that you want to output on the same line, you can use a larger format sequence:
    >>> name = "JoyPad"
>>> salary = 180000
>>> daily = 695.956
>>> print("%20s%010d%010.3f" % (name, salary, daily))
              JoyPad0000180000000695.956

    So, the name is printed using maximum 20 characters, padded with spaces, using 's' specification for String.
    The salary is printed as a integer number, using 'd', on 10 characters, padded with zeroes.
    The daily rate is printed with the format discussed above.

    This is a common type of file format used in accounting and banking, called fixed width format.


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