GNU bug report logs - #77179
seq incorrectly(?) pads output when last parameter magnitude larger than last printed number

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From: Pádraig Brady <P <at> draigBrady.com>
To: Nicolas Boichat <nicolas <at> boichat.ch>, 77179 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: bug#77179: seq incorrectly(?) pads output when last parameter magnitude larger than last printed number
Date: Sat, 22 Mar 2025 19:18:40 +0000

On 22/03/2025 12:36, Nicolas Boichat wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> Version: seq (GNU coreutils) 9.6; OS: Archlinux, x86-64
> 
> When adding `-w` parameter, we want numbers to be padded with leading 0s,
> e.g. this looks correct:
> $ seq -w 0 5 10
> 00
> 05
> 10
> 
> However, the behaviour is perhaps incorrect when the last printed number
> magnitude is lower than the last parameter, e.g:
> $ seq -w 0 6 10
> 00
> 06
> would probably be more correct with this output:
> 0
> 6
> 
> The manual makes no promise about this ("Print all numbers with the same
> width, by padding with leading zeros"), but it's still a bit odd to add a
> superfluous 0.
> 
> Also, it is especially confusing because, on the other hand, the precision
> of the last parameter is ignored, as if it was just a bound that played no
> role in formatting:
> $ seq 0 5 10.00001
> 0
> 5
> 10
> 
> While
> $ seq 0.0000 5 10
> 0.0000
> 5.0000
> 10.0000
> 
> Side note, a solution would also need to make sure that this still works:
> $ seq -w 0 5 12
> 00
> 05
> 10

Yes we could do better here,though there are many edge cases as you've noted.
I suspect though that -w currently suffices for the
vast majority of cases it's needed for.

thanks,
Pádraig

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