Your methodology table has a row for each demographic group: count of responses and average satisfaction score. What does that line look like in the paper right now?
Something like "Junior | Responses: 42 | Avg Satisfaction: 3.87" — I format those numbers manually in my Word doc.
clean_response_text normalised the strings. Now we add numeric formatting. :.2f pins a float to exactly two decimal places — so 3.8700000001 becomes 3.87. And :, adds a thousands separator — so 1000 becomes 1,000 for a large dataset:
count = 42
avg = 3.8700000001
line = f"Responses: {count:,} | Avg: {avg:.2f}"
print(line) # Responses: 42 | Avg: 3.87
The colon inside the curly braces — is that part of the f-string syntax, or part of the variable name?
Part of the f-string syntax. Everything after : inside {} is a format spec — a mini-language for controlling how the value prints. :.2f means float with 2 decimal places. :, means add a comma every three digits. :,.2f gives you both at once:
def format_summary_line(demographic: str, count: int, avg_score: float) -> str:
line = f"{demographic} | Responses: {count:,} | Avg Satisfaction: {avg_score:.2f}"
print(f"Summary: {line}")
return line
I just replaced the TEXT() formula I've been using in Excel since Year 1. This is cleaner.
And it runs on 500 rows without dragging a formula down a column.
My entire methods table can be generated programmatically. My committee is going to think I learned statistics.
Both :,.2f specs exist for a reason. :, without .2f gives you no decimal places. :.2f without :, gives you no thousands separator. The order is , then .2f — reverse them and Python throws a ValueError.
After : inside {}, use a format spec to control how a number prints:
| Spec | Effect | Example |
|---|---|---|
:.2f | Two decimal places | 3.87000 → 3.87 |
:, | Thousands separator | 1000 → 1,000 |
:,.2f | Both | 1000.5 → 1,000.50 |
The comma comes before the dot: :,.2f — not :.2f,. Wrong order is a ValueError.
Use :.2f for any float that represents a measurement or score — raw float strings like 3.8699999 are not readable in a thesis table. Format specs keep the string short and consistent without calling round() separately.
Your methodology table has a row for each demographic group: count of responses and average satisfaction score. What does that line look like in the paper right now?
Something like "Junior | Responses: 42 | Avg Satisfaction: 3.87" — I format those numbers manually in my Word doc.
clean_response_text normalised the strings. Now we add numeric formatting. :.2f pins a float to exactly two decimal places — so 3.8700000001 becomes 3.87. And :, adds a thousands separator — so 1000 becomes 1,000 for a large dataset:
count = 42
avg = 3.8700000001
line = f"Responses: {count:,} | Avg: {avg:.2f}"
print(line) # Responses: 42 | Avg: 3.87The colon inside the curly braces — is that part of the f-string syntax, or part of the variable name?
Part of the f-string syntax. Everything after : inside {} is a format spec — a mini-language for controlling how the value prints. :.2f means float with 2 decimal places. :, means add a comma every three digits. :,.2f gives you both at once:
def format_summary_line(demographic: str, count: int, avg_score: float) -> str:
line = f"{demographic} | Responses: {count:,} | Avg Satisfaction: {avg_score:.2f}"
print(f"Summary: {line}")
return lineI just replaced the TEXT() formula I've been using in Excel since Year 1. This is cleaner.
And it runs on 500 rows without dragging a formula down a column.
My entire methods table can be generated programmatically. My committee is going to think I learned statistics.
Both :,.2f specs exist for a reason. :, without .2f gives you no decimal places. :.2f without :, gives you no thousands separator. The order is , then .2f — reverse them and Python throws a ValueError.
After : inside {}, use a format spec to control how a number prints:
| Spec | Effect | Example |
|---|---|---|
:.2f | Two decimal places | 3.87000 → 3.87 |
:, | Thousands separator | 1000 → 1,000 |
:,.2f | Both | 1000.5 → 1,000.50 |
The comma comes before the dot: :,.2f — not :.2f,. Wrong order is a ValueError.
Use :.2f for any float that represents a measurement or score — raw float strings like 3.8699999 are not readable in a thesis table. Format specs keep the string short and consistent without calling round() separately.
You are generating your thesis methodology table programmatically. Write `format_summary_line(demographic, count, avg_score)` that returns a string like `'Junior | Responses: 42 | Avg Satisfaction: 3.87'` using f-string format specifiers for both the count and the average. For example, `format_summary_line('Junior', 42, 3.8700001)` should return `'Junior | Responses: 42 | Avg Satisfaction: 3.87'`.
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No blank-editor panic.