diff --git a/src/lib/fmt/format.go b/src/lib/fmt/format.go
index 058c619..64d6c9b 100644
--- a/src/lib/fmt/format.go
+++ b/src/lib/fmt/format.go
@@ -4,7 +4,9 @@
 
 package fmt
 
-import "strconv"
+import (
+	"strconv";
+)
 
 /*
 	Raw formatter. See print.go for a more palatable interface.
@@ -39,11 +41,22 @@
 	wid_present bool;
 	prec int;
 	prec_present bool;
+	// flags
+	minus bool;
+	plus bool;
+	sharp bool;
+	space bool;
+	zero bool;
 }
 
 func (f *Fmt) clearflags() {
 	f.wid_present = false;
 	f.prec_present = false;
+	f.minus = false;
+	f.plus = false;
+	f.sharp = false;
+	f.space = false;
+	f.zero = false;
 }
 
 func (f *Fmt) clearbuf() {
@@ -101,24 +114,28 @@
 	return f;
 }
 
-// append s to buf, padded on left (w > 0) or right (w < 0)
+// append s to buf, padded on left (w > 0) or right (w < 0 or f.minus)
 // padding is in bytes, not characters (agrees with ANSIC C, not Plan 9 C)
 func (f *Fmt) pad(s string) {
 	if f.wid_present && f.wid != 0 {
-		left := true;
+		left := !f.minus;
 		w := f.wid;
 		if w < 0 {
 			left = false;
 			w = -w;
 		}
 		w -= len(s);
+		padchar := byte(' ');
+		if left && f.zero {
+			padchar = '0';
+		}
 		if w > 0 {
 			if w > NByte {
 				w = NByte;
 			}
 			buf := new([]byte, w);
 			for i := 0; i < w; i++ {
-				buf[i] = ' ';
+				buf[i] = padchar;
 			}
 			if left {
 				s = string(buf) + s;
@@ -163,16 +180,35 @@
 	if negative {
 		a = -a;
 	}
-	i := putint(&buf, NByte-1, uint64(base), uint64(a), digits);
+
+	// two ways to ask for extra leading zero digits: %.3d or %03d.
+	// apparently the first cancels the second.
+	prec := 0;
 	if f.prec_present {
-		for i > 0 && f.prec > (NByte-1-i) {
-			buf[i] = '0';
-			i--;
+		prec = f.prec;
+		f.zero = false;
+	} else if f.zero && f.wid_present && !f.minus && f.wid > 0{
+		prec = f.wid;
+		if negative || f.plus || f.space {
+			prec--;  // leave room for sign
 		}
 	}
+
+	i := putint(&buf, NByte-1, uint64(base), uint64(a), digits);
+	for i > 0 && prec > (NByte-1-i) {
+		buf[i] = '0';
+		i--;
+	}
+
 	if negative {
 		buf[i] = '-';
 		i--;
+	} else if f.plus {
+		buf[i] = '+';
+		i--;
+	} else if f.space {
+		buf[i] = ' ';
+		i--;
 	}
 	return string(buf)[i+1:NByte];
 }
@@ -334,6 +370,44 @@
 	return f;
 }
 
+// hexadecimal string
+func (f *Fmt) sx(s string) *Fmt {
+	t := "";
+	for i := 0; i < len(s); i++ {
+		v := s[i];
+		t += string(ldigits[v>>4]);
+		t += string(ldigits[v&0xF]);
+	}
+	f.pad(t);
+	f.clearflags();
+	return f;
+}
+
+func (f *Fmt) sX(s string) *Fmt {
+	t := "";
+	for i := 0; i < len(s); i++ {
+		v := s[i];
+		t += string(udigits[v>>4]);
+		t += string(udigits[v&0xF]);
+	}
+	f.pad(t);
+	f.clearflags();
+	return f;
+}
+
+// quoted string
+func (f *Fmt) q(s string) *Fmt {
+	var quoted string;
+	if f.sharp && strconv.CanBackquote(s) {
+		quoted = "`"+s+"`";
+	} else {
+		quoted = strconv.Quote(s);
+	}
+	f.pad(quoted);
+	f.clearflags();
+	return f;
+}
+
 // floating-point
 
 func Prec(f *Fmt, def int) int {
@@ -370,7 +444,7 @@
 // cannot defer to float64 versions
 // because it will get rounding wrong in corner cases.
 func (f *Fmt) e32(a float32) *Fmt {
-	return FmtString(f, strconv.ftoa32(a, 'e', Prec(f, -1)));
+	return FmtString(f, strconv.ftoa32(a, 'e', Prec(f, 6)));
 }
 
 func (f *Fmt) f32(a float32) *Fmt {