How to use String.format() in Java to replicate tab “\t”?

Question

I\'m printing data line by line and want it to be organized like a table.

I initially used firstName + \", \" + lastName + \"\\t\" + phoneNumber.

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Answer 1

consider using a negative number for your length specifier: %-20s. For example:

   public static void main(String[] args) {
     String[] firstNames = {"Pete", "Jon", "Fred"};
     String[] lastNames = {"Klein", "Jones", "Flinstone"};
     String phoneNumber = "555-123-4567";

      for (int i = 0; i < firstNames.length; i++) {
        String foo = String.format("%-20s %s", lastNames[i] + ", " + 
             firstNames[i], phoneNumber);
        System.out.println(foo);
      }   
   }

returns

Klein, Pete          555-123-4567
Jones, Jon           555-123-4567
Flinstone, Fred      555-123-4567