Index: Doc/reference/datamodel.rst
===================================================================
--- Doc/reference/datamodel.rst	(revision 57699)
+++ Doc/reference/datamodel.rst	(working copy)
@@ -1288,6 +1288,27 @@
    The return value must be a string object.
 
 
+.. method:: object.__format__(self, format_spec)
+
+   .. index::
+      pair: string; conversion
+      builtin: str
+      statement: print
+
+   Called by the :func:`format` built-in function (and by extension, the
+   :meth:`format` method of class :class:`str`) to produce a "formatted"
+   string representation of an object. The ``format_spec`` argument is
+   a string that contains a description of the formatting options desired.
+   The interpretation of the ``format_spec`` argument is up to the type
+   implementing :meth:`__format__`, however most classes will either
+   delegate formatting to one of the built-in types, or use a similar
+   formatting option syntax.
+   
+   See :ref:`formatspec` for a description of the standard formatting syntax.
+
+   The return value must be a string object.
+
+
 .. method:: object.__lt__(self, other)
             object.__le__(self, other)
             object.__eq__(self, other)
Index: Doc/library/string.rst
===================================================================
--- Doc/library/string.rst	(revision 57699)
+++ Doc/library/string.rst	(working copy)
@@ -78,6 +78,344 @@
    vertical tab.
 
 
+String Formatting
+-----------------
+
+Starting in Python 3.0, the built-in string class provides the ability to
+do complex variable substitutions and value formatting via the :func:`format`
+method described in :pep:`3101`. The :class:`Formatter` class in the :mod:`string`
+module allows you to create and customize your own string formatting behaviors
+using the same implementation as the built-in :meth:`format` method.
+
+.. class:: Formatter
+
+   The :class:`Formatter` class has the following public methods:
+
+   .. method:: format(format_string, *args, *kwargs)
+
+      :meth:`format` is the primary API method.  It takes a format template string,
+      and an arbitrary set of positional and keyword argument.  :meth:`format`
+      is just a wrapper that calls :meth:`vformat`.
+
+   .. method:: vformat(format_string, args, kwargs)
+   
+      This function does the actual work of formatting. It
+      is exposed as a separate function for cases where you want to pass in
+      a predefined dictionary of arguments, rather than unpacking and
+      repacking the dictionary as individual arguments using the ``*args`` and
+      ``**kwds`` syntax.  :meth:`vformat` does the work of breaking up the format
+      template string into character data and replacement fields. It calls
+      the various methods described below.
+
+   In addition, the :class:`Formatter` defines a number of methods that
+   are intended to be replaced by subclasses:
+
+   .. method:: parse(format_string)
+   
+      Loops over the format_string and returns an iterable of tuples 
+      (*literal_text*, *field_name*, *format_spec*, *conversion*).  This is used by 
+      :meth:`vformat` to break the string in to either literal text, or replacement 
+      fields.
+      
+      The values in the tuple conceptually represent a span of literal text
+      followed by a single replacement field. If there is no literal text
+      (which can happen if two replacement fields occur consecutively), then
+      *literal_text* will be a zero-length string. If there is no replacement field,
+      then the values of *field_name*, *format_spec* and *conversion* will be ``None``.
+
+   .. method:: get_field(field_name, args, kwargs, used_args)
+
+      Given *field_name* as returned by :meth:`parse` (see above), convert it to an object to be 
+      formatted.  The default version takes strings of the form defined in :pep:`3101`,
+      such as "0[name]" or "label.title".  It records which args have 
+      been used in *used_args*. *args* and *kwargs* are as passed in to :meth:`vformat`.
+
+   .. method:: get_value(key, args, kwargs)
+   
+      Retrieves a given field value. The *key* argument
+      will be either an integer or a string.  If it is an integer, it represents
+      the index of the positional argument in *args*; If it is a string, then
+      it represents a named argument in *kwargs*.
+
+      The *args* parameter is set to the list of positional arguments to
+      :meth:`vformat`, and the *kwargs* parameter is set to the dictionary of
+      keyword arguments.
+
+      For compound field names, these functions are only called for the
+      first component of the field name; Subsequent components are handled
+      through normal attribute and indexing operations.
+
+      So for example, the field expression '0.name' would cause :meth:`get_value`
+      to be called with a *key* argument of 0.  The ``name`` attribute will be
+      looked up after :meth:`get_value` returns by calling the built-in :func:`getattr`
+      function.
+
+      If the index or keyword refers to an item that does not exist, then an
+      :exc:`IndexError` or :exc:`KeyError` should be raised.
+
+   .. method:: check_unused_args(used_args, args, kwargs)
+
+      Implement checking for unused arguments if desired.
+      The arguments to this function is the set of all argument
+      keys that were actually referred to in the format string (integers for
+      positional arguments, and strings for named arguments), and a reference
+      to the *args* and *kwargs* that was passed to vformat.  The set of unused
+      args can be calculated from these parameters.  :meth:`check_unused_args`
+      is assumed to throw an exception if the check fails.
+
+   .. method:: format_field(value, format_spec)
+
+      :meth:`format_field` simply calls the global :func:`format` built-in. The method
+      is provided so that subclasses can override it.
+
+   .. method:: convert_field(value, conversion)
+   
+      Converts the value (returned by :meth:`get_field`) given a conversion
+      type (as in the tuple returned by the :meth:`parse` method.)
+      The default version understands 'r' (repr) and 's' (str) conversion types.
+
+   .. versionadded:: 3.0
+
+.. _formatstrings:
+
+Format String Syntax
+--------------------
+
+The :meth:`str.format` method and the :class:`Formatter` class share the same
+syntax for format strings (although in the case of :class:`Formatter`, subclasses can define
+their own format string syntax.)
+
+Format strings contain "replacement fields" surrounded by braces ``{}``. Anything
+that is not contained in braces is considered literal text, which is copied
+unchanged to the output. If you need to include a brace character in the literal
+text, it can be escaped by doubling: ``{{`` and ``}}``.
+
+The grammar for a replacement field is as follows:
+
+   .. productionlist::
+      replacement_field: "{" `field_name` ["!" `conversion`] [":" `format_spec`] "}"
+      field_name: (`identifier` | `integer`) ("." `attribute_name` | "[" element_index "]")*
+      attribute_name: `identifier`
+      element_index: `integer`
+      conversion: "r" | "s"
+      format_spec: <described in the next section>
+      
+In less formal terms, the replacement field starts with a *field_name*, which can
+either be a number (for a positional argument), or an identifier (for keyword
+arguments). Following this is an optional *conversion* field, which is preceded
+by an exclamation point ``'!'``, and a *format_spec*, which is preceded by a colon ``':'``.
+
+The *field_name* itself begins with either a number or a keyword; If it's a number, it
+refers to a positional argument, and if it's a keyword it refers to a named keyword argument.
+This can be followed by any number of index or attribute expressions. An expression of the
+form ``'.name'`` selects the named attribute using :func:`getattr`, while an expression of
+the form ``'[index]'`` does an index lookup using :func:`__getitem__`.
+
+Some simple format string examples::
+
+   "First, thou shalt count to {0}" # References first positional argument
+   "My quest is {name}"             # References keyword argument 'name'
+   "Weight in tons {0.weight}"      # 'weight' attribute of first positional arg
+   "Units destroyed: {players[0]}"  # First element of keyword argument 'players'.
+   
+The *conversion* field causes a type coercion before formatting. Normally, the
+job of formatting a value is done by the :meth:`__format__` method of the value
+itself. However, in some cases it is desirable to force a type to be formatted
+as a string, overriding its own definition of formatting. By converting the
+value to a string before calling :meth:`__format__`, the normal formatting
+logic is bypassed.
+
+Two conversion flags are currently supported: ``'!s'`` which calls :func:`str()` on the
+value, and ``'!r'`` which calls :func:`repr()`.
+
+Some examples::
+
+   "Harold's a clever {0!s}"        # Calls str() on the argument first
+   "Bring out the holy {name!r}"    # Calls repr() on the argument first
+
+The *format_spec* field contains a specification of how the value should be presented,
+including such details as field width, alignment, padding, decimal precision and so on.
+Each value type can define it's own "formatting mini-language" or interpretation
+of the *format_spec*.
+
+Most built-in types support a common formatting mini-language, which is described
+in the next section.
+
+A *format_spec* field can also include nested replacement fields within it. These
+nested replacement fields can contain only a field name; conversion flags and
+format specifications are not allowed. The replacement fields within the format_spec
+are substituted before the *format_spec* string is interpreted. This allows the
+formatting of a value to be dynamically specified.
+
+For example, suppose you wanted to have a replacement field whose field width is
+determined by another variable::
+
+   "A man with two {0:{1}}".format("noses", 10)
+
+This would first evaluate the inner replacement field, making the format string effectively::
+
+   "A man with two {0:10}"
+
+Then the outer replacement field would be evaluated, producing::
+
+   "noses     "
+   
+Which is subsitituted into the string, yielding::
+   
+   "A man with two noses     "
+   
+(The extra space is because we specified a field width of 10, and because left alignment
+is the default for strings.)
+
+.. versionadded:: 3.0
+
+.. _formatspec:
+
+Format Specification Mini-Language
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+"Format specifications" are used within replacement fields contained within a format string
+to define how individual values are presented (see
+:ref:`formatstrings`.) They can also be passed directly to the builtin :func:`format`
+function. Each formattable type may define how the format specification is to be interpreted.
+
+Most built-in types implement the following options for format specifications, although
+some of the formatting options are only supported by the numeric types.
+
+A general convention is that an empty format string (``""``) produces the same result as if
+you had called :func:`str()` on the value.
+
+The general form of a *standard format specifier* is:
+
+.. productionlist::
+   format_spec: [[`fill`]`align`][`sign`][0][`width`][.`precision`][`type`]
+   fill: <a character other than '}'>
+   align: "<" | ">" | "=" | "^"
+   sign: "+" | "-" | " "
+   width: `integer`
+   precision: `integer`
+   type: "b" | "c" | "d" | "e" | "E" | "f" | "F" | "g" | "G" | "n" | "o" | "x" | "X" | "%"
+   
+The *fill* character can be any character other than '}' (which signifies the end
+of the field). The presence of a fill character is signaled by the *next* character, which
+must be one of the alignment options. If the second character of *format_spec* is
+not a valid alignment option, then it is assumed that both the fill character and
+the alignment option are absent.
+
+The meaning of the various alignment options is as follows:
+
+   +---------+----------------------------------------------------------+
+   | Option  | Meaning                                                  |
+   +=========+==========================================================+
+   | ``'<'`` | Forces the field to be left-aligned within the available |
+   |         | space (This is the default.)                             |
+   +---------+----------------------------------------------------------+
+   | ``'>'`` | Forces the field to be right-aligned within the          |
+   |         | available space.                                         |
+   +---------+----------------------------------------------------------+
+   | ``'='`` | Forces the padding to be placed after the sign (if any)  |
+   |         | but before the digits.  This is used for printing fields |
+   |         | in the form '+000000120'. This alignment option is only  |
+   |         | valid for numeric types.                                 |
+   +---------+----------------------------------------------------------+
+   | ``'^'`` | Forces the field to be centered within the available     |
+   |         | space.                                                   |
+   +---------+----------------------------------------------------------+
+
+Note that unless a minimum field width is defined, the field
+width will always be the same size as the data to fill it, so
+that the alignment option has no meaning in this case.
+
+The *sign* option is only valid for number types, and can be one of
+the following:
+
+   +---------+----------------------------------------------------------+
+   | Option  | Meaning                                                  |
+   +=========+==========================================================+
+   | ``'+'`` | indicates that a sign should be used for both            |
+   |         | positive as well as negative numbers.                    |
+   +---------+----------------------------------------------------------+
+   | ``'-'`` | indicates that a sign should be used only for negative   |
+   |         | numbers (this is the default behavior).                  |
+   +---------+----------------------------------------------------------+
+   | space   | indicates that a leading space should be used on         |
+   |         | positive numbers, and a minus sign on negative numbers.  |
+   +---------+----------------------------------------------------------+
+
+*width* is a decimal integer defining the minimum field width.  If
+not specified, then the field width will be determined by the
+content.
+
+If the *width* field is preceded by a zero (``'0'``) character, this enables
+zero-padding. This is equivalent to an *alignment* type of ``'='`` and a
+*fill* character of ``'0'``.
+
+The *precision* is a decimal number indicating how many digits
+should be displayed after the decimal point for a floating point
+value. For non-number types the field indicates the maximum
+field size - in other words, how many characters will be used from
+the field content. The *precision* is ignored for integer values.
+
+Finally, the *type* determines how the data should be presented.
+
+The available integer presentation types are:
+
+   +---------+----------------------------------------------------------+
+   | Type    | Meaning                                                  |
+   +=========+==========================================================+
+   | ``'b'`` | Binary. Outputs the number in base 2.                    |
+   +---------+----------------------------------------------------------+
+   | ``'c'`` | Character. Converts the integer to the corresponding     |
+   |         | unicode character before printing.                       |
+   +---------+----------------------------------------------------------+
+   | ``'d'`` | Decimal Integer. Outputs the number in base 10.          |
+   +---------+----------------------------------------------------------+
+   | ``'o'`` | Octal format. Outputs the number in base 8.              |
+   +---------+----------------------------------------------------------+
+   | ``'x'`` | Hex format. Outputs the number in base 16, using lower-  |
+   |         | case letters for the digits above 9.                     |
+   +---------+----------------------------------------------------------+
+   | ``'X'`` | Hex format. Outputs the number in base 16, using upper-  |
+   |         | case letters for the digits above 9.                     |
+   +---------+----------------------------------------------------------+
+   | None    | the same as 'd'                                          |
+   +---------+----------------------------------------------------------+
+                                                                         
+The available presentation types for floating point and decimal values are:
+                                                                         
+   +---------+----------------------------------------------------------+
+   | Type    | Meaning                                                  |
+   +=========+==========================================================+
+   | ``'e'`` | Exponent notation. Prints the number in scientific       |
+   |         | notation using the letter 'e' to indicate the exponent.  |
+   +---------+----------------------------------------------------------+
+   | ``'E'`` | Exponent notation. Same as ``'e'`` except it uses an     |
+   |         | upper case 'E' as the separator character.               |
+   +---------+----------------------------------------------------------+
+   | ``'f'`` | Fixed point. Displays the number as a fixed-point        |
+   |         | number.                                                  |
+   +---------+----------------------------------------------------------+
+   | ``'F'`` | Fixed point. Same as ``'f'``.                            |
+   +---------+----------------------------------------------------------+
+   | ``'g'`` | General format. This prints the number as a fixed-point  |
+   |         | number, unless the number is too large, in which case    |
+   |         | it switches to ``'e'`` exponent notation.                |
+   +---------+----------------------------------------------------------+
+   | ``'G'`` | General format. Same as ``'g'`` except switches to       |
+   |         | ``'E'`` if the number gets to large.                     |
+   +---------+----------------------------------------------------------+
+   | ``'n'`` | Number. This is the same as ``'g'``, except that it uses |
+   |         | the current locale setting to insert the appropriate     |
+   |         | number separator characters.                             |
+   +---------+----------------------------------------------------------+
+   | ``'%'`` | Percentage. Multiplies the number by 100 and displays    |
+   |         | in fixed (``'f'``) format, followed by a percent sign.   |
+   +---------+----------------------------------------------------------+
+   | None    | similar to ``'g'``, except that it prints at least one   |
+   |         | digit after the decimal point.                           |
+   +---------+----------------------------------------------------------+
+
+
 Template strings
 ----------------
 
Index: Doc/library/stdtypes.rst
===================================================================
--- Doc/library/stdtypes.rst	(revision 57699)
+++ Doc/library/stdtypes.rst	(working copy)
@@ -737,6 +737,23 @@
    found.
 
 
+.. method:: str.format(format_string, *args, **ksargs)
+
+   Perform a string formatting operation. The *format_string* argument can contain
+   literal text or replacement fields delimited by braces '{}'. Each replacement
+   field contains either the numeric index of a positional argument, or the
+   name of a keyword argument. Returns a copy of *format_string* where each
+   replacement field is replaced with the string value of the corresponding
+   argument.
+
+      >>> "The sum of 1 + 2 is {0}".format(1+2)
+      'The sum of 1 + 2 is 3'
+
+   See :ref:`formatstrings` for a description of the various formatting options
+   that can be specified in format strings.
+
+   .. versionadded:: 3.0
+
 .. method:: str.index(sub[, start[, end]])
 
    Like :meth:`find`, but raise :exc:`ValueError` when the substring is not found.
Index: Doc/library/functions.rst
===================================================================
--- Doc/library/functions.rst	(revision 57699)
+++ Doc/library/functions.rst	(working copy)
@@ -449,6 +449,22 @@
 
    The float type is described in :ref:`typesnumeric`.
 
+.. function:: format(value[, format_spec])
+
+   Convert a string or a number to a "formatted" representation, as controlled
+   by *format_spec*. The interpretation of *format_spec* will depend on the
+   type of the *value* argument, however there is a standard formatting
+   syntax that is used by most built-in types: :ref:`formatspec`.
+   
+   .. note::
+
+      .. index::
+         pair: str; format
+         single: __format__
+
+      ``format(value, format_spec)`` merely calls ``value.__format__(format_spec)``.
+
+
 .. function:: frozenset([iterable])
    :noindex:
 
