my $a = chr(65); my $b = chr(66); my $c = chr(67); printf "%s" x 3, $a x 2, $b x 3, $c x 4; #### printf "%c" x 9, (65) x 2, (66) x 3, (67) x 4; #### printf '%1$c'x2 . '%2$c'x3 . '%3$c'x4, 65, 66, 67;