[PATCH v3 1/2] tools/nolibc: support left alignment (-) in printf
From: licheng.li
Date: Fri Jan 30 2026 - 02:19:28 EST
From: Cheng Li <im.lechain@xxxxxxxxx>
Currently, __nolibc_printf() in nolibc parses the width field but always
pads with spaces on the left. It ignores the '-' flag (left alignment).
This patch implements support for the '-' flag
to forces left alignment by padding spaces on the right.
The implementation reuses the padding character logic to handle both
cases.
Logic behavior:
- "%5d" -> " -5" (unchanged, right align)
- "%-5d" -> "-5 " (new, left align)
Suggested-by: Willy Tarreau <w@xxxxxx>
Signed-off-by: Cheng Li <im.lechain@xxxxxxxxx>
---
v3 changes:
- Removed pad zeros support because of bug for signed number and pointer
v2 changes:
- Adopted optimization suggestions from Willy Tarreau:
- Incremented 'written' counter at the start of loops.
- Reordered loop checks to optimize compiler register usage.
- Updated commit message to explicitly mention zero-padding ('0') support.
---
tools/include/nolibc/stdio.h | 19 ++++++++++++++++---
1 file changed, 16 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)
diff --git a/tools/include/nolibc/stdio.h b/tools/include/nolibc/stdio.h
index 1f16dab2ac88..f31b77f61d3b 100644
--- a/tools/include/nolibc/stdio.h
+++ b/tools/include/nolibc/stdio.h
@@ -250,7 +250,7 @@ typedef int (*__nolibc_printf_cb)(intptr_t state, const char *buf, size_t size);
static __attribute__((unused, format(printf, 4, 0)))
int __nolibc_printf(__nolibc_printf_cb cb, intptr_t state, size_t n, const char *fmt, va_list args)
{
- char escape, lpref, c;
+ char escape, lpref, padc, c;
unsigned long long v;
unsigned int written, width;
size_t len, ofs, w;
@@ -261,11 +261,17 @@ int __nolibc_printf(__nolibc_printf_cb cb, intptr_t state, size_t n, const char
while (1) {
c = fmt[ofs++];
width = 0;
+ padc = ' ';
if (escape) {
/* we're in an escape sequence, ofs == 1 */
escape = 0;
+ if (c == '-') {
+ padc = c;
+ c = fmt[ofs++];
+ }
+
/* width */
while (c >= '0' && c <= '9') {
width *= 10;
@@ -358,13 +364,20 @@ int __nolibc_printf(__nolibc_printf_cb cb, intptr_t state, size_t n, const char
if (n) {
w = len < n ? len : n;
n -= w;
- while (width-- > w) {
+ while (width > w && padc != '-') {
+ written += 1;
if (cb(state, " ", 1) != 0)
return -1;
- written += 1;
+ width--;
}
if (cb(state, outstr, w) != 0)
return -1;
+ while (width > w) {
+ written += 1;
+ if (cb(state, " ", 1) != 0)
+ return -1;
+ width--;
+ }
}
written += len;
--
2.52.0