Is there a printf converter to print in binary for

Question

I can print with printf as a hex or octal number. Is there a format tag to print as binary, or arbitrary base?

I am running gcc.

printf("%d %x %o\n", 10, 10, 10); //prints "10 A 12\n"
print("%b\n", 10); // prints "%b\n"

Answer 1

Print Binary for Any Datatype

//assumes little endian
void printBits(size_t const size, void const * const ptr)
{
    unsigned char *b = (unsigned char*) ptr;
    unsigned char byte;
    int i, j;

    for (i=size-1;i>=0;i--)
    {
        for (j=7;j>=0;j--)
        {
            byte = (b[i] >> j) & 1;
            printf("%u", byte);
        }
    }
    puts("");
}

test

int main(int argv, char* argc[])
{
        int i = 23;
        uint ui = UINT_MAX;
        float f = 23.45f;
        printBits(sizeof(i), &i);
        printBits(sizeof(ui), &ui);
        printBits(sizeof(f), &f);
        return 0;
}

Answer 2

Some runtimes support "%b" although that is not a standard.

Also see here for an interesting discussion:

http://bytes.com/forum/thread591027.html

HTH

Answer 3

The following recursive function might be useful:

void bin(int n)
{
    /* Step 1 */
    if (n > 1)
        bin(n/2);
    /* Step 2 */
    printf("%d", n % 2);
}

Answer 4

You could use a small table to improve speed¹. Similar techniques are useful in the embedded world, for example, to invert a byte:

const char *bit_rep[16] = {
    [ 0] = "0000", [ 1] = "0001", [ 2] = "0010", [ 3] = "0011",
    [ 4] = "0100", [ 5] = "0101", [ 6] = "0110", [ 7] = "0111",
    [ 8] = "1000", [ 9] = "1001", [10] = "1010", [11] = "1011",
    [12] = "1100", [13] = "1101", [14] = "1110", [15] = "1111",
};

void print_byte(uint8_t byte)
{
    printf("%s%s", bit_rep[byte >> 4], bit_rep[byte & 0x0F]);
}

¹ I'm mostly referring to embedded applications where optimizers are not so aggressive and the speed difference is visible.

Answer 5

There isn't a binary conversion specifier in glibc normally.

It is possible to add custom conversion types to the printf() family of functions in glibc. See register_printf_function for details. You could add a custom %b conversion for your own use, if it simplifies the application code to have it available.

Here is an example of how to implement a custom printf formats in glibc.

Answer 6

None of the previously posted answers are exactly what I was looking for, so I wrote one. It is super simple to use %B with the printf!

    /*
     * File:   main.c
     * Author: Techplex.Engineer
     *
     * Created on February 14, 2012, 9:16 PM
     */

    #include <stdio.h>
    #include <stdlib.h>
    #include <printf.h>
    #include <math.h>
    #include <string.h>


    static int printf_arginfo_M(const struct printf_info *info, size_t n, int *argtypes) {
        /* "%M" always takes one argument, a pointer to uint8_t[6]. */
        if (n > 0) {
            argtypes[0] = PA_POINTER;
        }
        return 1;
    } /* printf_arginfo_M */

    static int printf_output_M(FILE *stream, const struct printf_info *info, const void *const *args) {
        int value = 0;
        int len;

        value = *(int **) (args[0]);

        //Beginning of my code ------------------------------------------------------------
        char buffer [50] = ""; //Is this bad?
        char buffer2 [50] = ""; //Is this bad?
        int bits = info->width;
        if (bits <= 0)
            bits = 8; // Default to 8 bits

        int mask = pow(2, bits - 1);
        while (mask > 0) {
            sprintf(buffer, "%s", (((value & mask) > 0) ? "1" : "0"));
            strcat(buffer2, buffer);
            mask >>= 1;
        }
        strcat(buffer2, "\n");
        // End of my code --------------------------------------------------------------
        len = fprintf(stream, "%s", buffer2);
        return len;
    } /* printf_output_M */

    int main(int argc, char** argv) {

        register_printf_specifier('B', printf_output_M, printf_arginfo_M);

        printf("%4B\n", 65);

        return (EXIT_SUCCESS);
    }