<s>
Format	O
is	O
a	O
function	O
in	O
Common	B-Language
Lisp	I-Language
that	O
can	O
produce	O
formatted	O
text	O
using	O
a	O
format	B-Language
string	I-Language
similar	O
to	O
the	O
printf	B-Language
format	I-Language
string	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
provides	O
more	O
functionality	O
than	O
printf	B-Language
,	O
allowing	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
output	O
numbers	O
in	O
various	O
formats	O
(	O
including	O
,	O
for	O
instance	O
:	O
hex	O
,	O
binary	O
,	O
octal	O
,	O
roman	O
numerals	O
,	O
and	O
English	O
)	O
,	O
apply	O
certain	O
format	B-Language
specifiers	I-Language
only	O
under	O
certain	O
conditions	O
,	O
iterate	O
over	O
data	O
structures	O
,	O
output	O
in	O
a	O
tabular	O
format	O
,	O
and	O
even	O
recurse	O
,	O
calling	O
format	O
internally	O
to	O
handle	O
data	O
structures	O
that	O
include	O
their	O
own	O
preferred	O
formatting	O
strings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
functionally	O
originates	O
in	O
MIT	O
's	O
Lisp	B-Language
Machine	I-Language
Lisp	I-Language
,	O
where	O
it	O
was	O
based	O
on	O
Multics	B-Application
ioa_	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Streams	O
in	O
Common	B-Language
Lisp	I-Language
comprehend	O
,	O
among	O
others	O
,	O
string	O
output	O
and	O
file	O
streams	O
;	O
hence	O
,	O
being	O
capable	O
of	O
writing	O
to	O
such	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
destinations	O
,	O
this	O
function	O
unifies	O
capabilities	O
distributed	O
among	O
distinct	O
commands	O
in	O
some	O
other	O
programming	O
languages	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
C	O
's	O
printf	B-Language
for	O
console	O
output	O
,	O
sprintf	O
for	O
string	O
formatting	O
,	O
and	O
fprintf	O
for	O
file	O
writing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Two	O
particular	O
characters	O
may	O
be	O
utilized	O
as	O
prefix	O
parameter	O
values	O
with	O
distinctive	O
interpretation	O
:	O
v	O
or	O
V	O
acts	O
as	O
a	O
placeholder	B-Language
for	O
an	O
integer	O
number	O
or	O
character	O
from	O
the	O
format	O
arguments	O
which	O
is	O
consumed	O
and	O
placed	O
into	O
its	O
stead	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
example	O
of	O
a	O
C	O
printf	B-Language
call	O
is	O
the	O
following	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Using	O
Common	B-Language
Lisp	I-Language
,	O
this	O
is	O
equivalent	O
to	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
Common	B-Language
Lisp	I-Language
FORMAT	O
summary	O
table	O
is	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
