From: matz@... (Yukihiro Matsumoto)
Date: 2003-04-21T14:14:38+09:00
Subject: Re: dots in hex printf

Hi,

In message "dots in hex printf"
    on 03/04/21, Ed L Cashin <ecashin@uga.edu> writes:

|Hi.  I was wondering why there are dots in printing out a hexadecimal
|number: 

You were trying to print negative numbers in hexadecimal.  Ruby
assumes virtual infinite on-bits leftward for negative numbers.  Dots
represents omitted bits on left side.  If you don't want those dots,
specify format precision (e.g. "%.5x"), or bit-and with mask bits
(e.g. x & 0xffff).

							matz.