How do I format a number with a variable number of digits in Python?

Question

Say I wanted to display the number 123 with a variable number of padded zeroes on the front.

For example, if I wanted to display it in 5 digits I would have digits =

Answer 1

Use string formatting

print '%(#)03d' % {'#': 2}
002
print '%(#)06d' % {'#': 123}
000123

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