bug#12866: 24.3.50; (elisp) `%-Constructs': padded with spaces to the right or left?

[Drew Adams]

> > (set (make-local-variable 'mode-line-position) '("%40l"))
> >  
> > It seems to me that that pads the line number with spaces 
> > on the left, not the right.  But perhaps I'm missing something.
> 
> I think string formats, like %s, are padded to the right.  IOW, the
> padding behaves like in C.

Dunno what that means.  Are you drawing a contrast with what you think?  Or with
%s (subprocess status) vs %l for mode-line constructs?  Something else?

The padding for %l (in the mode line) is what this bug report is about.  AFAICT,
the padding is put on the left.  Do you see something different from that?