Q: Why does the following fail to print as expected

IDL> a1 = 1
IDL> a2 = 2
IDL> a3 = 3
IDL> print,format='(8a,i02,i08,a3,i02,a4)', "abcdefgh",a1,a2,"ijk",a3,"LMNO.txt"
abcdefgh 1 2ijk 3LMNO.txt

I expect output like:

abcdefgh0100000002ijk03LMNO

A: The first format code "8a" is not correct for the desired output. "8a" specifies output for 8 strings.

Instead, the correct format code should be "a8". For example:

IDL> print,format='(a8,i02,i08,a3,i02,a4)', "abcdefgh",a1,a2,"ijk",a3,"LMNO.txt"
abcdefgh0100000002ijk03LMNO