What is the significance of using sprintf() or printf() function in PHP for formatting numbers?

Using the sprintf() or printf() function in PHP allows for formatting numbers in a specified way, such as controlling the number of decimal places, adding commas for thousands separators, or padding with zeros. This can be particularly useful when displaying numerical data in a more readable or standardized format.

$number = 123456.789;
$formatted_number = sprintf("%.2f", $number); // Formats the number to two decimal places
echo $formatted_number; // Output: 123456.79