Creating formatted output using picture strings

[John Posner]

On 2/10/2010 2:57 PM, Grant Edwards wrote:
> On 2010-02-10, python at bdurham.com<python at bdurham.com>  wrote:
>
> [regardning "picture" output format specifiers]
>
>> I was thinking that there was a built-in function for this
>> common(?) use case
>
> I haven't seen that paradigm since my one-and-only exposure to
> COBOL in a class I took back in 1979.  Is the "picture" thing
> commonly used in other places than COBOL?
>

FWIW, Microsoft Excel supports "Custom" numeric cell formats that use a 
PICTURE-like syntax.

-John