Taking a new line using printf in java? Is %n correct?

Question

I'm new to Java, and I am at my wits in end. I have got my program all to work, but just need help with the formatting when printing out.

if(count == 3)
    System.out.printf ("%-15s %15s %15s %15s %15s %n", n, " is compatible with 
                         ",dates[k],dates[k+1],dates[k+2]);

My output is

Stacey Francis   is compatible with     Owen Farrell   Jack Clifford  Joshua Watkins 

I would like my output to be (without repeating stacey francis name or "is compatible with":

Stacey Francis   is compatible with  Owen Farrell
                                 
                          Jack Clifford
                                 
                          Joshua Watkins

Just wondering how to go about this?

Solution 1

Yes, %n is a newline in printf. See the documentation of java.util.Formatter, specifically the conversion table which specifies:

'n' line separator The result is the platform-specific line separator

Your output currently only has a linebreak at the end, not at the points that you seem to want them. You would need to use a format like:

"%-15s %15s %15s %n %15s %n %15s %n"

(and maybe some tabs thrown in there for alignment).

Solution 2

%n should have worked. But the problem is, you have just used it at the end in your format string. You need to insert it at appropriate places: -

"%-15s %15s %15s %n %45s %n %45s"

---

You can also use "\n" between your format specifiers to print a newline: -

System.out.printf ("%-15s %15s %15s \n %45s \n %45s", 
                     n, " is compatible with ", dates[k],dates[k+1],dates[k+2]);

Also, I have increased the length of last two names from 15 to 45, to format them just below the previous names.