The way information is written to streams (or, occasionally, read from
streams) is controlled by emi(formatting flags).

Formatting is used when it is necessary to, e.g., set the width of an output
field or input buffer and to determine the form (e.g., the emi(radix)) in
which values are displayed. Most formatting features belong to the realm of
the tt(ios) class. Formatting is controlled by flags, defined by the tt(ios)
class.  These flags may be manipulated in two ways: using specialized
member functions or using em(manipulators), which are directly inserted into
or extracted from streams. There is no special reason for using either
method; usually both methods are possible. In the following overview
the various member functions are first introduced. Following this the flags
and manipulators themselves are covered. Examples are provided showing how
the flags can be manipulated and what their effects are.

Many manipulators are parameterless and are available once a stream header
file (e.g., tt(iostream)) has been included. Some manipulators require
arguments. To use the latter manipulators the header file ti(iomanip) must be
included.
