Slight correction. " %d" % 123 is not quite equivalent to str(123) as it does not handle negative numbers the same way. I am not sure there is a simple direct equivalent. "%+d" % 123 --> "+123" always gives a sign. "%4d" % 123 --> " 123" "%4d" % -123 --> "-123" so this works if you you know how wide the number is.
This might be a little too tricky. [" %d", "%d][n < 0] % n --> selects list[0] or list[1] based upon sign of number -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
