diff --git a/Include/formatter_unicode.h b/Include/formatter_unicode.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ccca883
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Include/formatter_unicode.h
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+PyObject *
+unicode_unicode__format__(PyObject *self, PyObject *args);
+
+PyObject *
+unicode_long__format__(PyObject *self, PyObject *args);
+
+PyObject *
+unicode_float__format__(PyObject *self, PyObject *args);
+
diff --git a/Include/unicodeobject.h b/Include/unicodeobject.h
index 4cde46a..f940887 100644
--- a/Include/unicodeobject.h
+++ b/Include/unicodeobject.h
@@ -1437,6 +1437,11 @@
     const Py_UNICODE *s, Py_UNICODE c
     );
 
+PyObject *
+_unicodeformatter_iterator(PyObject *str);
+PyObject *
+_unicodeformatter_lookup(PyObject *field_name, PyObject *args,
+                         PyObject *kwargs);
 
 #ifdef __cplusplus
 }
diff --git a/Lib/string.py b/Lib/string.py
index 87073aa..9df78af 100644
--- a/Lib/string.py
+++ b/Lib/string.py
@@ -189,3 +189,42 @@
             raise ValueError('Unrecognized named group in pattern',
                              self.pattern)
         return self.pattern.sub(convert, self.template)
+
+
+
+########################################################################
+# the Formatter class
+# see PEP 3101 for details and purpose of this class
+
+# The hard parts are reused from the C implementation.  They're
+# exposed here via the sys module.  sys was chosen because it's always
+# available and doesn't have to be dynamically loaded.
+
+# The parser is implemented in sys._formatter_parser.
+# The "object lookup" is implemented in sys._formatter_lookup
+
+from sys import _formatter_parser, _formatter_lookup
+
+class Formatter:
+    def format(self, format_string, *args, **kwargs):
+        return self.vformat(format_string, args, kwargs)
+
+    def vformat(self, format_string, args, kwargs):
+        result = []
+        for (is_markup, literal, field_name, format_spec, conversion) in \
+                _formatter_parser(format_string):
+            if is_markup:
+                # find the object
+                index, name, obj = _formatter_lookup(field_name, args, kwargs)
+            else:
+                result.append(literal)
+        return ''.join(result)
+
+    def get_value(self, key, args, kwargs):
+        pass
+
+    def check_unused_args(self, used_args, args, kwargs):
+        pass
+
+    def format_field(self, value, format_spec):
+        pass
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_builtin.py b/Lib/test/test_builtin.py
index f77cf78..0560045 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_builtin.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_builtin.py
@@ -517,6 +517,32 @@
         self.assertAlmostEqual(float(Foo3(21)), 42.)
         self.assertRaises(TypeError, float, Foo4(42))
 
+    def test_format(self):
+        class A:
+            def __init__(self, x):
+                self.x = x
+            def __format__(self, format_spec):
+                return str(self.x) + format_spec
+
+        # class that returns a bad type from __format__
+        class H:
+            def __format__(self, format_spec):
+                return 1.0
+
+        self.assertEqual(format(3, ''), '3')
+        self.assertEqual(format(A(3), 'spec'), '3spec')
+
+        # for builtin types, format(x, "") == str(x)
+        self.assertEqual(format(17**13, ""), str(17**13))
+        self.assertEqual(format(1.0, ""), str(1.0))
+        self.assertEqual(format(3.1415e104, ""), str(3.1415e104))
+        self.assertEqual(format(-3.1415e104, ""), str(-3.1415e104))
+        self.assertEqual(format(3.1415e-104, ""), str(3.1415e-104))
+        self.assertEqual(format(-3.1415e-104, ""), str(-3.1415e-104))
+        self.assertEqual(format(object, ""), str(object))
+
+        #self.assertRaises(TypeError, format, H(), "")
+
     def test_getattr(self):
         import sys
         self.assert_(getattr(sys, 'stdout') is sys.stdout)
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_descrtut.py b/Lib/test/test_descrtut.py
index fe29f34..d2f9720 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_descrtut.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_descrtut.py
@@ -173,6 +173,7 @@
      '__delslice__',
      '__doc__',
      '__eq__',
+     '__format__',
      '__ge__',
      '__getattribute__',
      '__getitem__',
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_float.py b/Lib/test/test_float.py
index 48abec9..e5a4537 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_float.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_float.py
@@ -114,12 +114,44 @@
             self.assertEquals(pos_pos(), neg_pos())
             self.assertEquals(pos_neg(), neg_neg())
 
+class FormatTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
+    def testFormat(self):
+        # these should be rewritten to use both format(x, spec) and
+        # x.__format__(spec)
+
+        self.assertEqual(format(0.0, 'f'), '0.000000')
+
+        # the default is 'g', except for empty format spec
+        self.assertEqual(format(0.0, ''), '0.0')
+        self.assertEqual(format(0.01, ''), '0.01')
+        self.assertEqual(format(0.01, 'g'), '0.01')
+
+        self.assertEqual(format(0, 'f'), '0.000000')
+
+        self.assertEqual(format(1.0, 'f'), '1.000000')
+        self.assertEqual(format(1, 'f'), '1.000000')
+
+        self.assertEqual(format(-1.0, 'f'), '-1.000000')
+        self.assertEqual(format(-1, 'f'), '-1.000000')
+
+        self.assertEqual(format( 1.0, ' f'), ' 1.000000')
+        self.assertEqual(format(-1.0, ' f'), '-1.000000')
+        self.assertEqual(format( 1.0, '+f'), '+1.000000')
+        self.assertEqual(format(-1.0, '+f'), '-1.000000')
+
+        # % formatting
+        self.assertEqual(format(-1.0, '%'), '-100.000000%')
+
+        # conversion to string should fail
+        self.assertRaises(ValueError, format, 3.0, "s")
+
 
 def test_main():
     test_support.run_unittest(
         FormatFunctionsTestCase,
         UnknownFormatTestCase,
-        IEEEFormatTestCase)
+        IEEEFormatTestCase,
+        FormatTestCase)
 
 if __name__ == '__main__':
     test_main()
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_long.py b/Lib/test/test_long.py
index 0b67c3e..4e15340 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_long.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_long.py
@@ -493,6 +493,50 @@
                 eq(x > y, Rcmp > 0, Frm("%r > %r %d", x, y, Rcmp))
                 eq(x >= y, Rcmp >= 0, Frm("%r >= %r %d", x, y, Rcmp))
 
+    def test_format(self):
+        self.assertEqual(format(123456789, 'd'), '123456789')
+        self.assertEqual(format(123456789, 'd'), '123456789')
+
+        # hex
+        self.assertEqual(format(3, "x"), "3")
+        self.assertEqual(format(3, "X"), "3")
+        self.assertEqual(format(1234, "x"), "4d2")
+        self.assertEqual(format(-1234, "x"), "-4d2")
+        self.assertEqual(format(1234, "8x"), "     4d2")
+# XXX fix       self.assertEqual(format(-1234, "8x"), "    -4d2")
+        self.assertEqual(format(1234, "x"), "4d2")
+        self.assertEqual(format(-1234, "x"), "-4d2")
+        self.assertEqual(format(-3, "x"), "-3")
+        self.assertEqual(format(-3, "X"), "-3")
+        self.assertEqual(format(int('be', 16), "x"), "be")
+        self.assertEqual(format(int('be', 16), "X"), "BE")
+        self.assertEqual(format(-int('be', 16), "x"), "-be")
+        self.assertEqual(format(-int('be', 16), "X"), "-BE")
+
+        # octal
+        self.assertEqual(format(3, "b"), "11")
+        self.assertEqual(format(-3, "b"), "-11")
+        self.assertEqual(format(1234, "b"), "10011010010")
+        self.assertEqual(format(-1234, "b"), "-10011010010")
+        self.assertEqual(format(1234, "-b"), "10011010010")
+        self.assertEqual(format(-1234, "-b"), "-10011010010")
+        self.assertEqual(format(1234, " b"), " 10011010010")
+        self.assertEqual(format(-1234, " b"), "-10011010010")
+        self.assertEqual(format(1234, "+b"), "+10011010010")
+        self.assertEqual(format(-1234, "+b"), "-10011010010")
+
+        # conversion to float
+        self.assertEqual(format(0, 'f'), '0.000000')
+
+        # make sure these are errors
+        self.assertRaises(ValueError, format, 3, "1.3")  # precision disallowed
+        return
+        self.assertRaises(ValueError, format, 3, "+c")   # sign not allowed
+                                                         # with 'c'
+        self.assertRaises(ValueError, format, 3, "R")    # bogus format type
+        # conversion to string should fail
+        self.assertRaises(ValueError, format, 3, "s")
+
 def test_main():
     test_support.run_unittest(LongTest)
 
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_string.py b/Lib/test/test_string.py
index 3b21ebc..ce9fe23 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_string.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_string.py
@@ -15,6 +15,14 @@
         string.punctuation
         string.printable
 
+    def test_formatter(self):
+        fmt = string.Formatter()
+        self.assertEqual(fmt.format("foo"), "foo")
+
+        # Formatter not working you for lookups
+        #self.assertEqual(fmt.format("foo{0}", "bar"), "foobar")
+
+
     def test_maketrans(self):
         transtable = '\000\001\002\003\004\005\006\007\010\011\012\013\014\015\016\017\020\021\022\023\024\025\026\027\030\031\032\033\034\035\036\037 !"#$%&\'()*+,-./0123456789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\\]^_`xyzdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}~\177\200\201\202\203\204\205\206\207\210\211\212\213\214\215\216\217\220\221\222\223\224\225\226\227\230\231\232\233\234\235\236\237\240\241\242\243\244\245\246\247\250\251\252\253\254\255\256\257\260\261\262\263\264\265\266\267\270\271\272\273\274\275\276\277\300\301\302\303\304\305\306\307\310\311\312\313\314\315\316\317\320\321\322\323\324\325\326\327\330\331\332\333\334\335\336\337\340\341\342\343\344\345\346\347\350\351\352\353\354\355\356\357\360\361\362\363\364\365\366\367\370\371\372\373\374\375\376\377'
 
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_unicode.py b/Lib/test/test_unicode.py
index 4b582de..ff0e015 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_unicode.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_unicode.py
@@ -357,6 +357,218 @@
 
         self.assertRaises(TypeError, "abc".__contains__)
 
+    def test_format(self):
+        self.assertEqual(''.format(), '')
+        self.assertEqual('a'.format(), 'a')
+        self.assertEqual('ab'.format(), 'ab')
+        self.assertEqual('a{{'.format(), 'a{')
+        self.assertEqual('a}}'.format(), 'a}')
+        self.assertEqual('{{b'.format(), '{b')
+        self.assertEqual('}}b'.format(), '}b')
+        self.assertEqual('a{{b'.format(), 'a{b')
+
+        # examples from the PEP:
+        import datetime
+        self.assertEqual("My name is {0}".format('Fred'), "My name is Fred")
+        self.assertEqual("My name is {0[name]}".format(dict(name='Fred')),
+                         "My name is Fred")
+        self.assertEqual("My name is {0} :-{{}}".format('Fred'),
+                         "My name is Fred :-{}")
+
+        d = datetime.date(2007, 8, 18)
+        self.assertEqual("The year is {0.year}".format(d),
+                         "The year is 2007")
+
+        #"{0!r:20}".format("Hello")
+
+        # classes we'll use for testing
+        class C:
+            def __init__(self, x=100):
+                self._x = x
+            def __format__(self, spec):
+                return spec
+
+        class D:
+            def __init__(self, x):
+                self.x = x
+            def __format__(self, spec):
+                return str(self.x)
+
+        # class with __str__, but no __format__
+        class E:
+            def __init__(self, x):
+                self.x = x
+            def __str__(self):
+                return 'E(' + self.x + ')'
+
+        # class with __repr__, but no __format__ or __str__
+        class F:
+            def __init__(self, x):
+                self.x = x
+            def __repr__(self):
+                return 'F(' + self.x + ')'
+
+        # class with __format__ that forwards to string, for some format_spec's
+        class G:
+            def __init__(self, x):
+                self.x = x
+            def __str__(self):
+                return "string is " + self.x
+            def __format__(self, format_spec):
+                if format_spec == 'd':
+                    return 'G(' + self.x + ')'
+                return object.__format__(self, format_spec)
+
+        # class that returns a bad type from __format__
+        class H:
+            def __format__(self, format_spec):
+                return 1.0
+
+
+        self.assertEqual(''.format(), '')
+        self.assertEqual('abc'.format(), 'abc')
+        self.assertEqual('{0}'.format('abc'), 'abc')
+        self.assertEqual('{0:}'.format('abc'), 'abc')
+#        self.assertEqual('{ 0 }'.format('abc'), 'abc')
+        self.assertEqual('X{0}'.format('abc'), 'Xabc')
+        self.assertEqual('{0}X'.format('abc'), 'abcX')
+        self.assertEqual('X{0}Y'.format('abc'), 'XabcY')
+        self.assertEqual('{1}'.format(1, 'abc'), 'abc')
+        self.assertEqual('X{1}'.format(1, 'abc'), 'Xabc')
+        self.assertEqual('{1}X'.format(1, 'abc'), 'abcX')
+        self.assertEqual('X{1}Y'.format(1, 'abc'), 'XabcY')
+        self.assertEqual('{0}'.format(-15), '-15')
+        self.assertEqual('{0}{1}'.format(-15, 'abc'), '-15abc')
+        self.assertEqual('{0}X{1}'.format(-15, 'abc'), '-15Xabc')
+        self.assertEqual('{{'.format(), '{')
+        self.assertEqual('}}'.format(), '}')
+        self.assertEqual('{{}}'.format(), '{}')
+        self.assertEqual('{{x}}'.format(), '{x}')
+        self.assertEqual('{{{0}}}'.format(123), '{123}')
+        self.assertEqual('{{{{0}}}}'.format(), '{{0}}')
+        self.assertEqual('}}{{'.format(), '}{')
+        self.assertEqual('}}x{{'.format(), '}x{')
+
+        self.assertEqual('{foo._x}'.format(foo=C(20)), '20')
+        self.assertEqual('{1}{0}'.format(D(10), D(20)), '2010')
+        self.assertEqual('{0._x.x}'.format(C(D('abc'))), 'abc')
+        self.assertEqual('{0[0]}'.format(['abc', 'def']), 'abc')
+        self.assertEqual('{0[1]}'.format(['abc', 'def']), 'def')
+        self.assertEqual('{0[1][0]}'.format(['abc', ['def']]), 'def')
+        self.assertEqual('{0[1][0].x}'.format(['abc', [D('def')]]), 'def')
+
+        # I'm not sure if this should work, or if it's a problem if it does work
+        #'{0[_{foo}]}'.format({'_FOO': 'abc'}, foo='FOO')
+        #('{0[{foo}{bar}]}'.format({'FOOBAR': 'abc'}, foo='FOO', bar='BAR')
+
+        # format specifiers for built in types
+
+        # strings
+        self.assertEqual('{0:.3s}'.format('abc'), 'abc')
+        self.assertEqual('{0:.3s}'.format('ab'), 'ab')
+        self.assertEqual('{0:.3s}'.format('abcdef'), 'abc')
+        self.assertEqual('{0:.0s}'.format('abcdef'), '')
+        self.assertEqual('{0:3.3s}'.format('abc'), 'abc')
+        self.assertEqual('{0:2.3s}'.format('abc'), 'abc')
+        self.assertEqual('{0:2.2s}'.format('abc'), 'ab')
+        self.assertEqual('{0:3.2s}'.format('abc'), 'ab ')
+        self.assertEqual('{0:x<0s}'.format('result'), 'result')
+        self.assertEqual('{0:x<5s}'.format('result'), 'result')
+        self.assertEqual('{0:x<6s}'.format('result'), 'result')
+        self.assertEqual('{0:x<7s}'.format('result'), 'resultx')
+        self.assertEqual('{0:x<8s}'.format('result'), 'resultxx')
+        self.assertEqual('{0: <7s}'.format('result'), 'result ')
+        self.assertEqual('{0:<7s}'.format('result'), 'result ')
+        self.assertEqual('{0:>7s}'.format('result'), ' result')
+        self.assertEqual('{0:>8s}'.format('result'), '  result')
+        self.assertEqual('{0:^8s}'.format('result'), ' result ')
+        self.assertEqual('{0:^9s}'.format('result'), ' result  ')
+        self.assertEqual('{0:^10s}'.format('result'), '  result  ')
+        self.assertEqual('{0:10000}'.format('a'), 'a' + ' ' * 9999)
+        self.assertEqual('{0:10000}'.format(''), ' ' * 10000)
+        self.assertEqual('{0:10000000}'.format(''), ' ' * 10000000)
+
+        # format specifiers for user defined type
+        self.assertEqual('{0:abc}'.format(C()), 'abc')
+
+        # !r and !s coersions
+        self.assertEqual('{0!s}'.format('Hello'), 'Hello')
+        self.assertEqual('{0!s:}'.format('Hello'), 'Hello')
+        self.assertEqual('{0!s:15}'.format('Hello'), 'Hello          ')
+        self.assertEqual('{0!s:15s}'.format('Hello'), 'Hello          ')
+        self.assertEqual('{0!r}'.format('Hello'), "'Hello'")
+        self.assertEqual('{0!r:}'.format('Hello'), "'Hello'")
+        self.assertEqual('{0!r}'.format(F('Hello')), 'F(Hello)')
+
+        # XXX should pass, but currently don't
+        # format(object, "")
+
+        # test fallback to object.__format__
+        self.assertEqual('{0}'.format({}), '{}')
+        self.assertEqual('{0}'.format([]), '[]')
+        self.assertEqual('{0}'.format([1]), '[1]')
+        self.assertEqual('{0}'.format(E('data')), 'E(data)')
+        self.assertEqual('{0:^10}'.format(E('data')), ' E(data)  ')
+        self.assertEqual('{0:^10s}'.format(E('data')), ' E(data)  ')
+        self.assertEqual('{0:d}'.format(G('data')), 'G(data)')
+        self.assertEqual('{0:>15s}'.format(G('data')), ' string is data')
+        self.assertEqual('{0!s}'.format(G('data')), 'string is data')
+
+        # string format specifiers
+        self.assertEqual('{0:}'.format('a'), 'a')
+
+        # computed format specifiers
+        self.assertEqual("{0:.{1}}".format('hello world', 5), 'hello')
+        self.assertEqual("{0:.{1}s}".format('hello world', 5), 'hello')
+        self.assertEqual("{0:.{precision}s}".format('hello world', precision=5), 'hello')
+        self.assertEqual("{0:{width}.{precision}s}".format('hello world', width=10, precision=5), 'hello     ')
+        self.assertEqual("{0:{width}.{precision}s}".format('hello world', width='10', precision='5'), 'hello     ')
+
+        # test various errors
+        self.assertRaises(ValueError, '{'.format)
+        self.assertRaises(ValueError, '}'.format)
+        self.assertRaises(ValueError, 'a{'.format)
+        self.assertRaises(ValueError, 'a}'.format)
+        self.assertRaises(ValueError, '{a'.format)
+        self.assertRaises(ValueError, '}a'.format)
+        self.assertRaises(ValueError, '{0}'.format)
+        self.assertRaises(ValueError, '{1}'.format, 'abc')
+        self.assertRaises(ValueError, '{x}'.format)
+        self.assertRaises(ValueError, "}{".format)
+        self.assertRaises(ValueError, "{".format)
+        self.assertRaises(ValueError, "}".format)
+        self.assertRaises(ValueError, "abc{0:{}".format)
+        self.assertRaises(ValueError, "{0".format)
+        self.assertRaises(ValueError, "{0.[]}".format)
+        self.assertRaises(ValueError, "{0[0}".format)
+        self.assertRaises(ValueError, "{0[0:foo}".format)
+        self.assertRaises(ValueError, "{c]}".format)
+        self.assertRaises(ValueError, "{{ {{{0}}".format)
+        self.assertRaises(ValueError, "{0}}".format)
+        self.assertRaises(ValueError, "{foo}".format, bar=3)
+        self.assertRaises(ValueError, "{0!x}".format, 3)
+        self.assertRaises(ValueError, "{0!}".format)
+        self.assertRaises(ValueError, "{0!rs}".format)
+        self.assertRaises(ValueError, "{!}".format)
+        self.assertRaises(ValueError, "{:}".format)
+        self.assertRaises(ValueError, "{}".format)
+
+        # can't have a replacement on the field name portion
+        self.assertRaises(TypeError, '{0[{1}]}'.format, 'abcdefg', 4)
+
+        # exceed maximum recursion depth
+        self.assertRaises(ValueError, "{0:{1:{2}}}".format, 'abc', 's', '')
+        self.assertRaises(ValueError, "{0:{1:{2:{3:{4:{5:{6}}}}}}}".format,
+                          0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
+
+        # string format spec errors
+        self.assertRaises(ValueError, "{0:-s}".format, '')
+        self.assertRaises(ValueError, format, "", "-")
+        self.assertRaises(ValueError, "{0:=s}".format, '')
+
+        # check that __format__ returns a string
+        #self.assertRaises(TypeError, "{0}".format, H())
+
     def test_formatting(self):
         string_tests.MixinStrUnicodeUserStringTest.test_formatting(self)
         # Testing Unicode formatting strings...
diff --git a/Makefile.pre.in b/Makefile.pre.in
index 4e9bab1..53012e8 100644
--- a/Makefile.pre.in
+++ b/Makefile.pre.in
@@ -271,6 +271,7 @@
 		Python/traceback.o \
 		Python/getopt.o \
 		Python/pystrtod.o \
+		Python/formatter_unicode.o \
 		Python/$(DYNLOADFILE) \
 		$(MACHDEP_OBJS) \
 		$(THREADOBJ)
@@ -503,6 +504,19 @@
 Objects/unicodectype.o:	$(srcdir)/Objects/unicodectype.c \
 				$(srcdir)/Objects/unicodetype_db.h
 
+Objects/unicodeobject.o: $(srcdir)/Objects/unicodeobject.c \
+				$(srcdir)/Objects/stringlib/string_format.h \
+	                        $(srcdir)/Objects/stringlib/unicodedefs.h \
+	                        $(srcdir)/Objects/stringlib/fastsearch.h \
+	                        $(srcdir)/Objects/stringlib/count.h \
+	                        $(srcdir)/Objects/stringlib/find.h \
+	                        $(srcdir)/Objects/stringlib/partition.h
+
+Python/formatter_unicode.o: $(srcdir)/Python/formatter_unicode.c \
+	                        $(srcdir)/Objects/stringlib/formatter.h
+
+
+
 ############################################################################
 # Header files
 
@@ -527,6 +541,7 @@
 		Include/genobject.h \
 		Include/fileobject.h \
 		Include/floatobject.h \
+		Include/formatter_unicode.h \
 		Include/funcobject.h \
 		Include/import.h \
 		Include/intobject.h \
diff --git a/Objects/floatobject.c b/Objects/floatobject.c
index 09efa12..ca94750 100644
--- a/Objects/floatobject.c
+++ b/Objects/floatobject.c
@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@
 
 #include "Python.h"
 
+#include "formatter_unicode.h"
+
 #include <ctype.h>
 
 #if !defined(__STDC__)
@@ -1015,6 +1017,21 @@
 	return PyFloat_FromDouble(0.0);
 }
 
+static PyObject *
+float__format__(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
+{
+    /* when back porting this to 2.6, check type of the format_spec
+       and call either unicode_long__format__ or
+       string_long__format__ */
+    return unicode_float__format__(self, args);
+}
+
+PyDoc_STRVAR(float__format__doc,
+"float.__format__(format_spec) -> string\n"
+"\n"
+"Formats the float according to format_spec.");
+
+
 static PyMethodDef float_methods[] = {
   	{"conjugate",	(PyCFunction)float_float,	METH_NOARGS,
 	 "Returns self, the complex conjugate of any float."},
@@ -1028,6 +1045,8 @@
 	 METH_O|METH_CLASS,		float_getformat_doc},
 	{"__setformat__",	(PyCFunction)float_setformat,	
 	 METH_VARARGS|METH_CLASS,	float_setformat_doc},
+        {"__format__",          (PyCFunction)float__format__,
+         METH_VARARGS,                  float__format__doc},
 	{NULL,		NULL}		/* sentinel */
 };
 
diff --git a/Objects/longobject.c b/Objects/longobject.c
index ddf359d..b724edf 100644
--- a/Objects/longobject.c
+++ b/Objects/longobject.c
@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@
 #include "Python.h"
 #include "longintrepr.h"
 
+#include "formatter_unicode.h"
+
 #include <ctype.h>
 
 long
@@ -3593,6 +3595,16 @@
 }
 
 static PyObject *
+long__format__(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
+{
+    /* when back porting this to 2.6, check type of the format_spec
+       and call either unicode_long__format__ or
+       string_long__format__ */
+    return unicode_long__format__(self, args);
+}
+
+
+static PyObject *
 long_round(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
 {
 #define UNDEF_NDIGITS (-0x7fffffff) /* Unlikely ndigits value */
@@ -3632,6 +3644,7 @@
          "Rounding an Integral returns itself.\n"
 	 "Rounding with an ndigits arguments defers to float.__round__."},
 	{"__getnewargs__",	(PyCFunction)long_getnewargs,	METH_NOARGS},
+        {"__format__", (PyCFunction)long__format__, METH_VARARGS},
 	{NULL,		NULL}		/* sentinel */
 };
 
diff --git a/Objects/stringlib/formatter.h b/Objects/stringlib/formatter.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b65244d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Objects/stringlib/formatter.h
@@ -0,0 +1,966 @@
+/* implements the string, long, and float formatters.  that is,
+   string.__format__, etc. */
+
+/* Before including this, you must include either:
+   stringlib/unicodedefs.h
+   stringlib/stringdefs.h
+
+   Also, you should define the names:
+   FORMAT_STRING
+   FORMAT_LONG
+   FORMAT_FLOAT
+   to be whatever you want the public names of these functions to
+   be.  These are the only non-static functions defined here.
+*/
+
+/*
+    get_integer consumes 0 or more decimal digit characters from an
+    input string, updates *result with the corresponding positive
+    integer, and returns the number of digits consumed.
+
+    returns -1 on error.
+*/
+static int
+get_integer(STRINGLIB_CHAR **ptr, STRINGLIB_CHAR *end,
+                  Py_ssize_t *result)
+{
+    Py_ssize_t accumulator, digitval, oldaccumulator;
+    int numdigits;
+    accumulator = numdigits = 0;
+    for (;;(*ptr)++, numdigits++) {
+        if (*ptr >= end)
+            break;
+        digitval = STRINGLIB_TODECIMAL(**ptr);
+        if (digitval < 0)
+            break;
+        /*
+           This trick was copied from old Unicode format code.  It's cute,
+           but would really suck on an old machine with a slow divide
+           implementation.  Fortunately, in the normal case we do not
+           expect too many digits.
+        */
+        oldaccumulator = accumulator;
+        accumulator *= 10;
+        if ((accumulator+10)/10 != oldaccumulator+1) {
+            PyErr_Format(PyExc_ValueError,
+                         "Too many decimal digits in format string");
+            return -1;
+        }
+        accumulator += digitval;
+    }
+    *result = accumulator;
+    return numdigits;
+}
+
+/************************************************************************/
+/*********** standard format specifier parsing **************************/
+/************************************************************************/
+
+/* returns true if this character is a specifier alignment token */
+Py_LOCAL_INLINE(int)
+is_alignment_token(STRINGLIB_CHAR c)
+{
+    switch (c) {
+    case '<': case '>': case '=': case '^':
+        return 1;
+    default:
+        return 0;
+    }
+}
+
+/* returns true if this character is a sign element */
+Py_LOCAL_INLINE(int)
+is_sign_element(STRINGLIB_CHAR c)
+{
+    switch (c) {
+    case ' ': case '+': case '-': case '(':
+        return 1;
+    default:
+        return 0;
+    }
+}
+
+
+typedef struct {
+    STRINGLIB_CHAR fill_char;
+    STRINGLIB_CHAR align;
+    STRINGLIB_CHAR sign;
+    Py_ssize_t width;
+    Py_ssize_t precision;
+    STRINGLIB_CHAR type;
+} InternalFormatSpec;
+
+/*
+  ptr points to the start of the format_spec, end points just past its end.
+  fills in format with the parsed information.
+  returns 1 on success, 0 on failure.
+  if failure, sets the exception
+*/
+static int
+parse_internal_render_format_spec(PyObject *format_spec,
+                                  InternalFormatSpec *format,
+                                  char default_type)
+{
+    STRINGLIB_CHAR *ptr = STRINGLIB_STR(format_spec);
+    STRINGLIB_CHAR *end = ptr + STRINGLIB_LEN(format_spec);
+
+    /* end-ptr is used throughout this code to specify the length of
+       the input string */
+
+    Py_ssize_t specified_width;
+
+    format->fill_char = '\0';
+    format->align = '\0';
+    format->sign = '\0';
+    format->width = -1;
+    format->precision = -1;
+    format->type = default_type;
+
+    /* If the second char is an alignment token,
+       then parse the fill char */
+    if (end-ptr >= 2 && is_alignment_token(ptr[1])) {
+        format->align = ptr[1];
+        format->fill_char = ptr[0];
+        ptr += 2;
+    } else if (end-ptr >= 1 && is_alignment_token(ptr[0])) {
+        format->align = ptr[0];
+        ptr++;
+    }
+
+    /* Parse the various sign options */
+    if (end-ptr >= 1 && is_sign_element(ptr[0])) {
+        format->sign = ptr[0];
+        ptr++;
+        if (end-ptr >= 1 && ptr[0] == ')') {
+            ptr++;
+        }
+    }
+
+    /* The special case for 0-padding (backwards compat) */
+    if (format->fill_char == '\0' &&
+            end-ptr >= 1 && ptr[0] == '0') {
+        format->fill_char = '0';
+        if (format->align == '\0') {
+            format->align = '=';
+        }
+        ptr++;
+    }
+
+    /* XXX add error checking */
+    specified_width = get_integer(&ptr, end, &format->width);
+
+    /* if specified_width is 0, we didn't consume any characters for
+       the width. in that case, reset the width to -1, because
+       get_integer() will have set it to zero */
+    if (specified_width == 0) {
+        format->width = -1;
+    }
+
+    /* Parse field precision */
+    if (end-ptr && ptr[0] == '.') {
+        ptr++;
+
+        /* XXX add error checking */
+        specified_width = get_integer(&ptr, end, &format->precision);
+
+        /* not having a precision after a dot is an error */
+        if (specified_width == 0) {
+            PyErr_Format(PyExc_ValueError,
+                         "Format specifier missing precision");
+            return 0;
+        }
+
+    }
+
+    /* Finally, parse the type field */
+
+    if (end-ptr > 1) {
+        /* invalid conversion spec */
+        PyErr_Format(PyExc_ValueError, "Invalid conversion specification");
+        return 0;
+    }
+
+    if (end-ptr == 1) {
+        format->type = ptr[0];
+        ptr++;
+    }
+
+    return 1;
+}
+
+
+/************************************************************************/
+/*********** common routines for numeric formatting *********************/
+/************************************************************************/
+
+/* describes the layout for an integer, see the comment in
+   _calc_integer_widths() for details */
+typedef struct {
+    Py_ssize_t n_lpadding;
+    Py_ssize_t n_spadding;
+    Py_ssize_t n_rpadding;
+    char lsign;
+    Py_ssize_t n_lsign;
+    char rsign;
+    Py_ssize_t n_rsign;
+    Py_ssize_t n_total; /* just a convenience, it's derivable from the
+                           other fields */
+} NumberFieldWidths;
+
+/* not all fields of format are used.  for example, precision is
+   unused.  should this take discrete params in order to be more clear
+   about what it does?  or is passing a single format parameter easier
+   and more efficient enough to justify a little obfuscation? */
+static void
+calc_number_widths(NumberFieldWidths *r, STRINGLIB_CHAR actual_sign,
+                   Py_ssize_t n_digits, const InternalFormatSpec *format)
+{
+    r->n_lpadding = 0;
+    r->n_spadding = 0;
+    r->n_rpadding = 0;
+    r->lsign = '\0';
+    r->n_lsign = 0;
+    r->rsign = '\0';
+    r->n_rsign = 0;
+
+    /* the output will look like:
+       |                                                           |
+       | <lpadding> <lsign> <spadding> <digits> <rsign> <rpadding> |
+       |                                                           |
+
+       lsign and rsign are computed from format->sign and the actual
+       sign of the number
+
+       digits is already known
+
+       the total width is either given, or computed from the
+       actual digits
+
+       only one of lpadding, spadding, and rpadding can be non-zero,
+       and it's calculated from the width and other fields
+    */
+
+    /* compute the various parts we're going to write */
+    if (format->sign == '+') {
+        /* always put a + or - */
+        r->n_lsign = 1;
+        r->lsign = (actual_sign == '-' ? '-' : '+');
+    } else if (format->sign == '(') {
+        if (actual_sign == '-') {
+            r->n_lsign = 1;
+            r->lsign = '(';
+            r->n_rsign = 1;
+            r->rsign = ')';
+        }
+    } else if (format->sign == ' ') {
+        r->n_lsign = 1;
+        r->lsign = (actual_sign == '-' ? '-' : ' ');
+    } else {
+        /* non specified, or the default (-) */
+        if (actual_sign == '-') {
+            r->n_lsign = 1;
+            r->lsign = '-';
+        }
+    }
+
+    /* now the number of padding characters */
+    if (format->width == -1) {
+        /* no padding at all, nothing to do */
+    } else {
+        /* see if any padding is needed */
+        if (r->n_lsign + n_digits + r->n_rsign >= format->width) {
+            /* no padding needed, we're already bigger than the
+               requested width */
+        } else {
+            /* determine which of left, space, or right padding is
+               needed */
+            Py_ssize_t padding = format->width - (r->n_lsign + n_digits + r->n_rsign);
+            if (format->align == '<')
+                r->n_rpadding = padding;
+            else if (format->align == '>')
+                r->n_lpadding = padding;
+            else if (format->align == '^') {
+                r->n_lpadding = padding / 2;
+                r->n_rpadding = padding - r->n_lpadding;
+            } else
+                /* must be '=' */
+                r->n_spadding = padding;
+        }
+    }
+    r->n_total = r->n_lpadding + r->n_lsign + r->n_spadding +
+        n_digits + r->n_rsign + r->n_rpadding;
+}
+
+/* fill in the non-digit parts of a numbers's string representation,
+   as determined in _calc_integer_widths().  returns the pointer to
+   where the digits go. */
+static STRINGLIB_CHAR *
+fill_number(STRINGLIB_CHAR *p_buf, const NumberFieldWidths *spec,
+            Py_ssize_t n_digits, STRINGLIB_CHAR fill_char)
+{
+    STRINGLIB_CHAR* p_digits;
+
+    if (spec->n_lpadding) {
+        STRINGLIB_FILL(p_buf, fill_char, spec->n_lpadding);
+        p_buf += spec->n_lpadding;
+    }
+    if (spec->n_lsign == 1) {
+        *p_buf++ = spec->lsign;
+    }
+    if (spec->n_spadding) {
+        STRINGLIB_FILL(p_buf, fill_char, spec->n_spadding);
+        p_buf += spec->n_spadding;
+    }
+    p_digits = p_buf;
+    p_buf += n_digits;
+    if (spec->n_rsign == 1) {
+        *p_buf++ = spec->rsign;
+    }
+    if (spec->n_rpadding) {
+        STRINGLIB_FILL(p_buf, fill_char, spec->n_rpadding);
+        p_buf += spec->n_rpadding;
+    }
+    return p_digits;
+}
+
+/************************************************************************/
+/*********** string formatting ******************************************/
+/************************************************************************/
+
+static PyObject *
+format_string_internal(PyObject *value, const InternalFormatSpec *format)
+{
+    Py_ssize_t width; /* total field width */
+    Py_ssize_t lpad;
+    STRINGLIB_CHAR *dst;
+    STRINGLIB_CHAR *src = STRINGLIB_STR(value);
+    Py_ssize_t len = STRINGLIB_LEN(value);
+    PyObject *result = NULL;
+
+    /* sign is not allowed on strings */
+    if (format->sign != '\0') {
+        PyErr_SetString(PyExc_ValueError,
+                        "Sign not allowed in string format specifier");
+        goto done;
+    }
+
+    /* '=' alignment not allowed on strings */
+    if (format->align == '=') {
+        PyErr_SetString(PyExc_ValueError,
+                        "'=' alignment not allowed "
+                        "in string format specifier");
+        goto done;
+    }
+
+    /* if precision is specified, output no more that format.precision
+       characters */
+    if (format->precision >= 0 && len >= format->precision) {
+        len = format->precision;
+    }
+
+    if (format->width >= 0) {
+        width = format->width;
+
+        /* but use at least len characters */
+        if (len > width) {
+            width = len;
+        }
+    } else {
+        /* not specified, use all of the chars and no more */
+        width = len;
+    }
+
+    /* allocate the resulting string */
+    result = STRINGLIB_NEW(NULL, width);
+    if (result == NULL)
+        goto done;
+
+    /* now write into that space */
+    dst = STRINGLIB_STR(result);
+
+    /* figure out how much leading space we need, based on the
+       aligning */
+    if (format->align == '>')
+        lpad = width - len;
+    else if (format->align == '^')
+        lpad = (width - len) / 2;
+    else
+        lpad = 0;
+
+    /* if right aligning, increment the destination allow space on the
+       left */
+    memcpy(dst + lpad, src, len * sizeof(STRINGLIB_CHAR));
+
+    /* do any padding */
+    if (width > len) {
+        STRINGLIB_CHAR fill_char = format->fill_char;
+        if (fill_char == '\0') {
+            /* use the default, if not specified */
+            fill_char = ' ';
+        }
+
+        /* pad on left */
+        if (lpad)
+            STRINGLIB_FILL(dst, fill_char, lpad);
+
+        /* pad on right */
+        if (width - len - lpad)
+            STRINGLIB_FILL(dst + len + lpad, fill_char, width - len - lpad);
+    }
+
+done:
+    return result;
+}
+
+
+/************************************************************************/
+/*********** long formatting ********************************************/
+/************************************************************************/
+
+static PyObject *
+format_long_internal(PyObject *value, const InternalFormatSpec *format)
+{
+    PyObject *result = NULL;
+    int total_leading_chars_to_skip = 0; /* also includes sign, if
+                                            present */
+    STRINGLIB_CHAR sign = '\0';
+    STRINGLIB_CHAR *p;
+    Py_ssize_t n_digits;       /* count of digits need from the computed
+                                  string */
+    Py_ssize_t len;
+    Py_ssize_t tmp;
+    NumberFieldWidths spec;
+    long x;
+
+    /* no precision allowed on integers */
+    if (format->precision != -1) {
+        PyErr_SetString(PyExc_ValueError,
+                        "Precision not allowed in integer format specifier");
+        goto done;
+    }
+
+
+    /* special case for character formatting */
+    if (format->type == 'c') {
+        /* error to specify a sign */
+        if (format->sign != '\0') {
+            PyErr_SetString(PyExc_ValueError,
+                            "Sign not allowed with integer"
+                            " format specifier 'c'");
+            goto done;
+        }
+
+        /* taken from unicodeobject.c formatchar() */
+        /* Integer input truncated to a character */
+        x = PyInt_AsLong(value);
+        if (x == -1 && PyErr_Occurred())
+            goto done;
+#ifdef Py_UNICODE_WIDE
+        if (x < 0 || x > 0x10ffff) {
+            PyErr_SetString(PyExc_OverflowError,
+                            "%c arg not in range(0x110000) "
+                            "(wide Python build)");
+            goto done;
+        }
+#else
+        if (x < 0 || x > 0xffff) {
+            PyErr_SetString(PyExc_OverflowError,
+                            "%c arg not in range(0x10000) "
+                            "(narrow Python build)");
+            goto done;
+        }
+#endif
+        result = STRINGLIB_NEW(NULL, 1);
+        if (result == NULL)
+            goto done;
+        p = STRINGLIB_STR(result);
+        p[0] = (Py_UNICODE) x;
+        n_digits = len = 1;
+    } else {
+        int base;
+        int format_leading_chars_to_skip;  /* characters added by
+                                              PyNumber_ToBase that we
+                                              want to skip over.
+                                              instead of using them,
+                                              we'll compute our
+                                              own. */
+        /* compute the base and how many characters will be added by
+           PyNumber_ToBase */
+        switch (format->type) {
+        case 'b':
+            base = 2;
+            format_leading_chars_to_skip = 2; /* 0b */
+            break;
+        case 'o':
+            base = 8;
+            format_leading_chars_to_skip = 2; /* 0o */
+            break;
+        case 'x':
+        case 'X':
+            base = 16;
+            format_leading_chars_to_skip = 2; /* 0x */
+            break;
+        default:  /* shouldn't be needed, but stops a compiler warning */
+        case 'd':
+            base = 10;
+            format_leading_chars_to_skip = 0;
+            break;
+        }
+
+        /* do the hard part, converting to a string in a given base */
+        result = PyNumber_ToBase(value, base);
+        if (result == NULL)
+            goto done;
+
+        n_digits = STRINGLIB_LEN(result);
+        len = n_digits;
+        p = STRINGLIB_STR(result);
+
+        /* if X, convert to uppercase */
+        if (format->type == 'X')
+            for (tmp = 0; tmp < len; tmp++)
+                p[tmp] = STRINGLIB_TOUPPER(p[tmp]);
+
+        /* is a sign character present in the output?  if so, remember it
+           and skip it */
+        sign = p[0];
+        if (sign == '-') {
+            total_leading_chars_to_skip += 1;
+            n_digits--;
+        }
+
+        /* skip over the leading digits (0x, 0b, etc.) */
+        assert(n_digits >= format_leading_chars_to_skip + 1);
+        n_digits -= format_leading_chars_to_skip;
+        total_leading_chars_to_skip += format_leading_chars_to_skip;
+    }
+
+    calc_number_widths(&spec, sign, n_digits, format);
+
+    /* if the buffer is getting bigger, realloc it.  if it's getting
+       smaller, don't realloc because we need to move the results
+       around first.  realloc after we've done that */
+
+    if (spec.n_total > len) {
+        if (STRINGLIB_RESIZE(&result, spec.n_total) < 0)
+            goto done;
+        /* recalc, because string might have moved */
+        p = STRINGLIB_STR(result);
+    }
+
+    /* copy the characters into position first, since we're going to
+       overwrite some of that space */
+    /* we need to move if the number of left padding in the output is
+       different from the number of characters we need to skip */
+    if ((spec.n_lpadding + spec.n_lsign + spec.n_spadding) !=
+          total_leading_chars_to_skip) {
+        memmove(p + (spec.n_lpadding + spec.n_lsign + spec.n_spadding),
+                p + total_leading_chars_to_skip,
+                n_digits * sizeof(STRINGLIB_CHAR));
+    }
+
+    /* now fill in the non-digit parts */
+    fill_number(p, &spec, n_digits,
+                format->fill_char == '\0' ? ' ' : format->fill_char);
+
+    /* if we're getting smaller, realloc now */
+    if (spec.n_total < len) {
+        if (STRINGLIB_RESIZE(&result, spec.n_total) < 0)
+            goto done;
+    }
+
+done:
+    return result;
+}
+
+
+/************************************************************************/
+/*********** float formatting *******************************************/
+/************************************************************************/
+
+/* taken from unicodeobject.c */
+static Py_ssize_t
+strtounicode(Py_UNICODE *buffer, const char *charbuffer)
+{
+    register Py_ssize_t i;
+    Py_ssize_t len = strlen(charbuffer);
+    for (i = len - 1; i >= 0; i--)
+	buffer[i] = (Py_UNICODE) charbuffer[i];
+
+    return len;
+}
+
+/* the callback function to call to do the actual float formatting.
+   it matches the definition of PyOS_ascii_formatd */
+typedef char*
+(*DoubleSnprintfFunction)(char *buffer, size_t buf_len,
+                          const char *format, double d);
+
+/* just a wrapper to make PyOS_snprintf look like DoubleSnprintfFunction */
+static char*
+snprintf_double(char *buffer, size_t buf_len, const char *format, double d)
+{
+    PyOS_snprintf(buffer, buf_len, format, d);
+    return NULL;
+}
+
+/* see FORMATBUFLEN in unicodeobject.c */
+#define FLOAT_FORMATBUFLEN 120
+
+/* much of this is taken from unicodeobject.c */
+/* use type instead of format->type, so that it can be overridden by
+   format_number() */
+static PyObject *
+_format_float(STRINGLIB_CHAR type, PyObject *value,
+              const InternalFormatSpec *format,
+              DoubleSnprintfFunction snprintf)
+{
+    /* fmt = '%.' + `prec` + `type` + '%%'
+       worst case length = 2 + 10 (len of INT_MAX) + 1 + 2 = 15 (use 20)*/
+    char fmt[20];
+
+    /* taken from unicodeobject.c */
+    /* Worst case length calc to ensure no buffer overrun:
+
+       'g' formats:
+	 fmt = %#.<prec>g
+	 buf = '-' + [0-9]*prec + '.' + 'e+' + (longest exp
+	    for any double rep.)
+	 len = 1 + prec + 1 + 2 + 5 = 9 + prec
+
+       'f' formats:
+	 buf = '-' + [0-9]*x + '.' + [0-9]*prec (with x < 50)
+	 len = 1 + 50 + 1 + prec = 52 + prec
+
+       If prec=0 the effective precision is 1 (the leading digit is
+       always given), therefore increase the length by one.
+
+    */
+    char charbuf[FLOAT_FORMATBUFLEN];
+    Py_ssize_t n_digits;
+    double x;
+    Py_ssize_t precision = format->precision;
+    PyObject *result = NULL;
+    STRINGLIB_CHAR sign;
+    char* trailing = "";
+    STRINGLIB_CHAR *p;
+    NumberFieldWidths spec;
+
+#if STRINGLIB_IS_UNICODE
+    Py_UNICODE unicodebuf[FLOAT_FORMATBUFLEN];
+#endif
+
+    /* first, do the conversion as 8-bit chars, using the platform's
+       snprintf.  then, if needed, convert to unicode. */
+
+    /* 'F' is the same as 'f', per the PEP */
+    if (type == 'F')
+        type = 'f';
+
+    x = PyFloat_AsDouble(value);
+
+    if (x == -1.0 && PyErr_Occurred())
+	goto done;
+
+    if (type == '%') {
+        type = 'f';
+        x *= 100;
+        trailing = "%";
+    }
+
+    if (precision < 0)
+	precision = 6;
+    if (type == 'f' && (fabs(x) / 1e25) >= 1e25)
+	type = 'g';
+
+    /* cast "type", because if we're in unicode we need to pass a
+       8-bit char.  this is safe, because we've restricted what "type"
+       can be */
+    PyOS_snprintf(fmt, sizeof(fmt), "%%.%zd%c", precision, (char)type);
+
+    /* call the passed in function to do the actual formatting */
+    snprintf(charbuf, sizeof(charbuf), fmt, x);
+
+    /* adding trailing to fmt with PyOS_snprintf doesn't work, not
+       sure why.  we'll just concatentate it here, no harm done.  we
+       know we can't have a buffer overflow from the fmt size
+       analysis */
+    strcat(charbuf, trailing);
+
+    /* rather than duplicate the code for snprintf for both unicode
+       and 8 bit strings, we just use the 8 bit version and then
+       convert to unicode in a separate code path.  that's probably
+       the lesser of 2 evils. */
+#if STRINGLIB_IS_UNICODE
+    n_digits = strtounicode(unicodebuf, charbuf);
+    p = unicodebuf;
+#else
+    /* compute the length.  I believe this is done because the return
+       value from snprintf above is unreliable */
+    n_digits = strlen(charbuf);
+    p = charbuf;
+#endif
+
+    /* is a sign character present in the output?  if so, remember it
+       and skip it */
+    sign = p[0];
+    if (sign == '-') {
+        p++;
+        n_digits--;
+    }
+
+    calc_number_widths(&spec, sign, n_digits, format);
+
+    /* allocate a string with enough space */
+    result = STRINGLIB_NEW(NULL, spec.n_total);
+    if (result == NULL)
+        goto done;
+
+    /* fill in the non-digit parts */
+    fill_number(STRINGLIB_STR(result), &spec, n_digits,
+                format->fill_char == '\0' ? ' ' : format->fill_char);
+
+    /* fill in the digit parts */
+    memmove(STRINGLIB_STR(result) + (spec.n_lpadding + spec.n_lsign + spec.n_spadding),
+            p,
+            n_digits * sizeof(STRINGLIB_CHAR));
+
+done:
+    return result;
+}
+
+static PyObject *
+format_float_internal(PyObject *value, const InternalFormatSpec *format)
+{
+    if (format->type == 'n')
+        return _format_float('f', value, format, snprintf_double);
+    else
+        return _format_float(format->type, value, format, PyOS_ascii_formatd);
+}
+
+/************************************************************************/
+/*********** built in formatters ****************************************/
+/************************************************************************/
+
+PyObject *
+FORMAT_STRING(PyObject* value, PyObject* args)
+{
+    PyObject *format_spec;
+    PyObject *tmp = NULL;
+    PyObject *result = NULL;
+    InternalFormatSpec format;
+
+    if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "O:__format__", &format_spec))
+        goto done;
+    if (!STRINGLIB_CHECK(format_spec)) {
+        PyErr_SetString(PyExc_TypeError, STRINGLIB_TYPE_NAME " object required");
+        goto done;
+    }
+
+    /* check for the special case of zero length format spec, make
+       it equivalent to str(value) */
+    if (STRINGLIB_LEN(format_spec) == 0) {
+        result = STRINGLIB_TOSTR(value);
+        goto done;
+    }
+
+    /* parse the format_spec */
+    if (!parse_internal_render_format_spec(format_spec, &format, 's'))
+        goto done;
+
+    /* type conversion? */
+    switch (format.type) {
+    case 's':
+        /* no type conversion needed, already a string.  do the formatting */
+        result = format_string_internal(value, &format);
+        break;
+#if 0
+    case 'b':
+    case 'c':
+    case 'd':
+    case 'o':
+    case 'x':
+    case 'X':
+        /* convert to integer */
+        /* XXX: make a stringlib function to do this when backporting,
+           since FromUnicode differs from FromString */
+        tmp = PyLong_FromUnicode(STRINGLIB_STR(value), STRINGLIB_LEN(value), 0);
+        if (tmp == NULL)
+            goto done;
+        result = format_long_internal(tmp, &format);
+        break;
+
+    case 'e':
+    case 'E':
+    case 'f':
+    case 'F':
+    case 'g':
+    case 'G':
+    case 'n':
+    case '%':
+        /* convert to float */
+        tmp = PyFloat_FromString(value);
+        if (tmp == NULL)
+            goto done;
+        result = format_float_internal(tmp, &format);
+        break;
+#endif
+    default:
+        /* unknown */
+        PyErr_Format(PyExc_ValueError, "Unknown conversion type %c",
+                     format.type);
+        goto done;
+    }
+
+done:
+    Py_XDECREF(tmp);
+    return result;
+}
+
+PyObject *
+FORMAT_LONG(PyObject* value, PyObject* args)
+{
+    PyObject *format_spec;
+    PyObject *result = NULL;
+    PyObject *tmp = NULL;
+    InternalFormatSpec format;
+
+    if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "O:__format__", &format_spec))
+        goto done;
+    if (!STRINGLIB_CHECK(format_spec)) {
+        PyErr_SetString(PyExc_TypeError, STRINGLIB_TYPE_NAME " object required");
+        goto done;
+    }
+
+    /* check for the special case of zero length format spec, make
+       it equivalent to str(value) */
+    if (STRINGLIB_LEN(format_spec) == 0) {
+        result = STRINGLIB_TOSTR(value);
+        goto done;
+    }
+
+    /* parse the format_spec */
+    if (!parse_internal_render_format_spec(format_spec, &format, 'd'))
+        goto done;
+
+    /* type conversion? */
+    switch (format.type) {
+#if 0
+    case 's':
+        /* convert to string/unicode */
+        tmp = STRINGLIB_TOSTR(value);
+        if (tmp == NULL)
+            goto done;
+        result = format_string_internal(tmp, &format);
+        break;
+#endif
+    case 'b':
+    case 'c':
+    case 'd':
+    case 'o':
+    case 'x':
+    case 'X':
+        /* no type conversion needed, already an int.  do the formatting */
+        result = format_long_internal(value, &format);
+        break;
+
+    case 'e':
+    case 'E':
+    case 'f':
+    case 'F':
+    case 'g':
+    case 'G':
+    case 'n':
+    case '%':
+        /* convert to float */
+        tmp = PyNumber_Float(value);
+        if (tmp == NULL)
+            goto done;
+        result = format_float_internal(value, &format);
+        break;
+
+    default:
+        /* unknown */
+        PyErr_Format(PyExc_ValueError, "Unknown conversion type %c",
+                     format.type);
+        goto done;
+    }
+
+done:
+    Py_XDECREF(tmp);
+    return result;
+}
+
+PyObject *
+FORMAT_FLOAT(PyObject *value, PyObject *args)
+{
+    PyObject *format_spec;
+    PyObject *result = NULL;
+    PyObject *tmp = NULL;
+    InternalFormatSpec format;
+
+    if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "O:__format__", &format_spec))
+        goto done;
+    if (!STRINGLIB_CHECK(format_spec)) {
+        PyErr_SetString(PyExc_TypeError, STRINGLIB_TYPE_NAME " object required");
+        goto done;
+    }
+
+    /* check for the special case of zero length format spec, make
+       it equivalent to str(value) */
+    if (STRINGLIB_LEN(format_spec) == 0) {
+        result = STRINGLIB_TOSTR(value);
+        goto done;
+    }
+
+    /* parse the format_spec */
+    if (!parse_internal_render_format_spec(format_spec, &format, 'g'))
+        goto done;
+
+    /* type conversion? */
+    switch (format.type) {
+#if 0
+    case 's':
+        /* convert to string/unicode */
+        tmp = STRINGLIB_TOSTR(value);
+        if (tmp == NULL)
+            goto done;
+        result = format_string_internal(tmp, &format);
+        break;
+#endif
+    case 'b':
+    case 'c':
+    case 'd':
+    case 'o':
+    case 'x':
+    case 'X':
+        /* convert to integer */
+        tmp = PyNumber_Long(value);
+        if (tmp == NULL)
+            goto done;
+        result = format_long_internal(tmp, &format);
+        break;
+
+    case 'e':
+    case 'E':
+    case 'f':
+    case 'F':
+    case 'g':
+    case 'G':
+    case 'n':
+    case '%':
+        /* no conversion, already a float.  do the formatting */
+        result = format_float_internal(value, &format);
+        break;
+
+    default:
+        /* unknown */
+        PyErr_Format(PyExc_ValueError, "Unknown conversion type %c",
+                     format.type);
+        goto done;
+    }
+
+done:
+    Py_XDECREF(tmp);
+    return result;
+}
diff --git a/Objects/stringlib/string_format.h b/Objects/stringlib/string_format.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5803216
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Objects/stringlib/string_format.h
@@ -0,0 +1,831 @@
+/*
+    string_format.h -- implementation of string.format().
+
+    It uses the Objects/stringlib conventions, so that it can be
+    compiled for both unicode and string objects.
+*/
+
+
+/* Defines for more efficiently reallocating the string buffer */
+#define INITIAL_SIZE_INCREMENT 100
+#define SIZE_MULTIPLIER 2
+#define MAX_SIZE_INCREMENT  3200
+
+
+/************************************************************************/
+/***********   Global data structures and forward declarations  *********/
+/************************************************************************/
+
+/*
+   A SubString consists of the characters between two string or
+   unicode pointers.
+*/
+typedef struct {
+    STRINGLIB_CHAR *ptr;
+    STRINGLIB_CHAR *end;
+} SubString;
+
+
+/* forward declaration for recursion */
+static PyObject *
+build_string(SubString *input, PyObject *args, PyObject *kwargs,
+             int *recursion_level);
+
+
+
+/************************************************************************/
+/**************************  Utility  functions  ************************/
+/************************************************************************/
+
+/* fill in a SubString from a pointer and length */
+Py_LOCAL_INLINE(void)
+SubString_init(SubString *str, STRINGLIB_CHAR *p, Py_ssize_t len)
+{
+    str->ptr = p;
+    if (p == NULL)
+        str->end = NULL;
+    else
+        str->end = str->ptr + len;
+}
+
+Py_LOCAL_INLINE(PyObject *)
+SubString_new_object(SubString *str)
+{
+    return STRINGLIB_NEW(str->ptr, str->end - str->ptr);
+}
+
+/************************************************************************/
+/***********      Error handling and exception generation  **************/
+/************************************************************************/
+
+/*
+    Most of our errors are value errors, because to Python, the
+    format string is a "value".  Also, it's convenient to return
+    a NULL when we are erroring out.
+
+    XXX: need better error handling, per PEP 3101.
+*/
+static void *
+SetError(const char *s)
+{
+    /* PyErr_Format always returns NULL */
+    return PyErr_Format(PyExc_ValueError, "%s in format string", s);
+}
+
+/*
+    check_input returns True if we still have characters
+    left in the input string.
+
+    XXX: make this function go away when better error handling is
+    implemented.
+*/
+Py_LOCAL_INLINE(int)
+check_input(SubString *input)
+{
+    if (input->ptr < input->end)
+        return 1;
+    PyErr_SetString(PyExc_ValueError,
+                    "unterminated replacement field");
+    return 0;
+}
+
+/************************************************************************/
+/***********    Output string management functions       ****************/
+/************************************************************************/
+
+typedef struct {
+    STRINGLIB_CHAR *ptr;
+    STRINGLIB_CHAR *end;
+    PyObject *obj;
+    Py_ssize_t size_increment;
+} OutputString;
+
+/* initialize an OutputString object, reserving size characters */
+static int
+output_initialize(OutputString *output, Py_ssize_t size)
+{
+    output->obj = STRINGLIB_NEW(NULL, size);
+    if (output->obj == NULL)
+        return 0;
+
+    output->ptr = STRINGLIB_STR(output->obj);
+    output->end = STRINGLIB_LEN(output->obj) + output->ptr;
+    output->size_increment = INITIAL_SIZE_INCREMENT;
+
+    return 1;
+}
+
+/*
+    output_extend reallocates the output string buffer.
+    It returns a status:  0 for a failed reallocation,
+    1 for success.
+*/
+
+static int
+output_extend(OutputString *output, Py_ssize_t count)
+{
+    STRINGLIB_CHAR *startptr = STRINGLIB_STR(output->obj);
+    Py_ssize_t curlen = output->ptr - startptr;
+    Py_ssize_t maxlen = curlen + count + output->size_increment;
+
+    if (STRINGLIB_RESIZE(&output->obj, maxlen) < 0)
+        return 0;
+    startptr = STRINGLIB_STR(output->obj);
+    output->ptr = startptr + curlen;
+    output->end = startptr + maxlen;
+    if (output->size_increment < MAX_SIZE_INCREMENT)
+        output->size_increment *= SIZE_MULTIPLIER;
+    return 1;
+}
+
+/*
+    output_data dumps characters into our output string
+    buffer.
+
+    In some cases, it has to reallocate the string.
+
+    It returns a status:  0 for a failed reallocation,
+    1 for success.
+*/
+static int
+output_data(OutputString *output, const STRINGLIB_CHAR *s, Py_ssize_t count)
+{
+    if ((count > output->end - output->ptr) && !output_extend(output, count))
+        return 0;
+    memcpy(output->ptr, s, count * sizeof(STRINGLIB_CHAR));
+    output->ptr += count;
+    return 1;
+}
+
+/************************************************************************/
+/***********  Format string parsing -- integers and identifiers *********/
+/************************************************************************/
+
+/*
+    end_identifier returns true if a character marks
+    the end of an identifier string.
+
+    Although the PEP specifies that identifiers are
+    numbers or valid Python identifiers, we just let
+    getattr/getitem handle that, so the implementation
+    is more flexible than the PEP would indicate.
+*/
+Py_LOCAL_INLINE(int)
+end_identifier(STRINGLIB_CHAR c)
+{
+    switch (c) {
+    case '.': case '[': case ']':
+        return 1;
+    default:
+        return 0;
+    }
+}
+
+/*
+    get_integer consumes 0 or more decimal digit characters from an
+    input string, updates *result with the corresponding positive
+    integer, and returns the number of digits consumed.
+
+    returns -1 on error.
+*/
+static int
+get_integer(STRINGLIB_CHAR **ptr, STRINGLIB_CHAR *end,
+                  Py_ssize_t *result)
+{
+    Py_ssize_t accumulator, digitval, oldaccumulator;
+    int numdigits;
+    accumulator = numdigits = 0;
+    for (;;(*ptr)++, numdigits++) {
+        if (*ptr >= end)
+            break;
+        digitval = STRINGLIB_TODECIMAL(**ptr);
+        if (digitval < 0)
+            break;
+        /*
+           This trick was copied from old Unicode format code.  It's cute,
+           but would really suck on an old machine with a slow divide
+           implementation.  Fortunately, in the normal case we do not
+           expect too many digits.
+        */
+        oldaccumulator = accumulator;
+        accumulator *= 10;
+        if ((accumulator+10)/10 != oldaccumulator+1) {
+            PyErr_Format(PyExc_ValueError,
+                         "Too many decimal digits in format string");
+            return -1;
+        }
+        accumulator += digitval;
+    }
+    *result = accumulator;
+    return numdigits;
+}
+
+/*
+    get_identifier is a bit of a misnomer.  It returns a value for use
+    with getattr or getindex.  This value will a string/unicode
+    object. The input cannot be zero length.  Continues until end of
+    input, or end_identifier() returns true.
+*/
+static PyObject *
+get_identifier(SubString *input)
+{
+    STRINGLIB_CHAR *start;
+
+    for (start = input->ptr;
+         input->ptr < input->end && !end_identifier(*input->ptr);
+         input->ptr++)
+        ;
+
+    return  STRINGLIB_NEW(start, input->ptr - start);
+
+    /*
+        We might want to add code here to check for invalid Python
+        identifiers.  All identifiers are eventually passed to getattr
+        or getitem, so there is a check when used.  However, we might
+        want to remove (or not) the ability to have strings like
+        "a/b" or " ab" or "-1" (which is not parsed as a number).
+        For now, this is left as an exercise for the first disgruntled
+        user...
+
+    if (XXX -- need check function) {
+        Py_DECREF(result);
+        PyErr_SetString(PyExc_ValueError,
+                      "Invalid embedded Python identifier");
+        return NULL;
+    }
+    */
+}
+
+/************************************************************************/
+/******** Functions to get field objects and specification strings ******/
+/************************************************************************/
+
+/* get_field_and_spec is the main function in this section.  It parses
+   the format string well enough to return a field object to render along
+   with a field specification string.
+*/
+
+/*
+    look up key in our keyword arguments
+*/
+static PyObject *
+key_lookup(PyObject *kwargs, PyObject *key)
+{
+    PyObject *result;
+
+    if (kwargs && (result = PyDict_GetItem(kwargs, key)) != NULL) {
+        Py_INCREF(result);
+        return result;
+    }
+    return NULL;
+}
+
+/*
+    get_field_object returns the object inside {}, before the
+    format_spec.  It handles getindex and getattr lookups and consumes
+    the entire input string.
+*/
+static PyObject *
+get_field_object(SubString *input, PyObject *args, PyObject *kwargs)
+{
+    PyObject *myobj, *subobj, *newobj;
+    STRINGLIB_CHAR c;
+    Py_ssize_t index;
+    int isindex, isnumeric, isargument;
+
+    index = isnumeric = 0;  /* Just to shut up the compiler warnings */
+
+    myobj = args;
+    Py_INCREF(myobj);
+
+    for (isindex=1, isargument=1;;) {
+        if (!check_input(input))
+            break;
+        if (!isindex) {
+            if ((subobj = get_identifier(input)) == NULL)
+                break;
+            newobj = PyObject_GetAttr(myobj, subobj);
+            Py_DECREF(subobj);
+        } else {
+            isnumeric = (STRINGLIB_ISDECIMAL(*input->ptr));
+            if (isnumeric)
+                /* XXX: add error checking */
+                get_integer(&input->ptr, input->end, &index);
+
+            if (isnumeric && PySequence_Check(myobj))
+                newobj = PySequence_GetItem(myobj, index);
+            else {
+                /* XXX -- do we need PyLong_FromLongLong?
+                                   Using ssizet, not int... */
+                subobj = isnumeric ?
+                          PyInt_FromLong(index) :
+                          get_identifier(input);
+                if (subobj == NULL)
+                    break;
+                if (isargument) {
+                    newobj = key_lookup(kwargs, subobj);
+                } else {
+                    newobj = PyObject_GetItem(myobj, subobj);
+                }
+                Py_DECREF(subobj);
+            }
+        }
+        Py_DECREF(myobj);
+        myobj = newobj;
+        if (myobj == NULL)
+            break;
+        if (!isargument && isindex)
+            if  ((!check_input(input)) || (*(input->ptr++) != ']')) {
+                SetError("Expected ]");
+                break;
+            }
+
+        /* if at the end of input, return with myobj */
+        if (input->ptr >= input->end)
+            return myobj;
+
+        c = *input->ptr;
+        input->ptr++;
+        isargument = 0;
+        isindex = (c == '[');
+        if (!isindex && (c != '.')) {
+           SetError("Expected ., [, :, !, or }");
+           break;
+        }
+    }
+    if ((myobj == NULL) && isargument) {
+        /* XXX: include more useful error information, like which
+         * keyword not found or which index missing */
+       PyErr_Clear();
+       return SetError(isnumeric
+            ? "Not enough positional arguments"
+            : "Keyword argument not found");
+    }
+    Py_XDECREF(myobj);
+    return NULL;
+}
+
+/************************************************************************/
+/*****************  Field rendering functions  **************************/
+/************************************************************************/
+
+/*
+    render_field() is the main function in this section.  It takes the
+    field object and field specification string generated by
+    get_field_and_spec, and renders the field into the output string.
+
+    format() does the actual calling of the objects __format__ method.
+*/
+
+
+/* returns fieldobj.__format__(format_spec) */
+static PyObject *
+format(PyObject *fieldobj, SubString *format_spec)
+{
+    static PyObject *format_str = NULL;
+    PyObject *meth;
+    PyObject *spec = NULL;
+    PyObject *result = NULL;
+
+    /* Initialize cached value */
+    if (format_str == NULL) {
+        /* Initialize static variable needed by _PyType_Lookup */
+        format_str = PyUnicode_FromString("__format__");
+        if (format_str == NULL)
+            return NULL;
+    }
+
+    /* Make sure the type is initialized.  float gets initialized late */
+    if (Py_Type(fieldobj)->tp_dict == NULL)
+        if (PyType_Ready(Py_Type(fieldobj)) < 0)
+            return NULL;
+
+    /* we need to create an object out of the pointers we have */
+    spec = SubString_new_object(format_spec);
+    if (spec == NULL)
+        goto done;
+
+    /* Find the (unbound!) __format__ method (a borrowed reference) */
+    meth = _PyType_Lookup(Py_Type(fieldobj), format_str);
+    if (meth == NULL) {
+        PyErr_Format(PyExc_TypeError,
+                     "Type %.100s doesn't define __format__",
+                     Py_Type(fieldobj)->tp_name);
+        goto done;
+    }
+
+    /* And call it, binding it to the value */
+    result = PyObject_CallFunctionObjArgs(meth, fieldobj, spec, NULL);
+    if (result == NULL)
+        goto done;
+
+    if (!STRINGLIB_CHECK(result)) {
+        PyErr_SetString(PyExc_TypeError,
+                        "__format__ method did not return "
+                        STRINGLIB_TYPE_NAME);
+        Py_DECREF(result);
+        result = NULL;
+        goto done;
+    }
+
+done:
+    Py_XDECREF(spec);
+    return result;
+}
+
+/*
+    render_field calls fieldobj.__format__(format_spec) method, and
+    appends to the output.
+*/
+static int
+render_field(PyObject *fieldobj, SubString *format_spec, OutputString *output)
+{
+    int ok = 0;
+    PyObject *result = format(fieldobj, format_spec);
+
+    if (result == NULL)
+        goto done;
+
+    ok = output_data(output,
+                     STRINGLIB_STR(result), STRINGLIB_LEN(result));
+done:
+    Py_XDECREF(result);
+    return ok;
+}
+
+static int
+parse_field(SubString *str, SubString *field_name, SubString *format_spec,
+            STRINGLIB_CHAR *conversion)
+{
+    STRINGLIB_CHAR c = 0;
+
+    /* initialize these, as they may be empty */
+    *conversion = '\0';
+    SubString_init(format_spec, NULL, 0);
+
+    /* search for the field name.  it's terminated by the end of the
+       string, or a ':' or '!' */
+    field_name->ptr = str->ptr;
+    while (str->ptr < str->end) {
+        switch (c = *(str->ptr++)) {
+        case ':':
+        case '!':
+            break;
+        default:
+            continue;
+        }
+        break;
+    }
+
+    if (c == '!' || c == ':') {
+        /* we have a format specifier and/or a conversion */
+        /* don't include the last character */
+        field_name->end = str->ptr-1;
+
+        /* the format specifier is the rest of the string */
+        format_spec->ptr = str->ptr;
+        format_spec->end = str->end;
+
+        /* see if there's a conversion specifier */
+        if (c == '!') {
+            /* there must be another character present */
+            if (format_spec->ptr >= format_spec->end) {
+                PyErr_SetString(PyExc_ValueError,
+                                "end of format while looking for conversion "
+                                "specifier");
+                return 0;
+            }
+            *conversion = *(format_spec->ptr++);
+
+            /* if there is another character, it must be a colon */
+            if (format_spec->ptr < format_spec->end) {
+                c = *(format_spec->ptr++);
+                if (c != ':') {
+                    PyErr_SetString(PyExc_ValueError,
+                                    "expected ':' after format specifier");
+                    return 0;
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        return 1;
+
+    } else {
+        /* end of string, there's no format_spec or conversion */
+        field_name->end = str->ptr;
+        return 1;
+    }
+}
+
+/************************************************************************/
+/******* Output string allocation and escape-to-markup processing  ******/
+/************************************************************************/
+
+/* MarkupIterator breaks the string into pieces of either literal
+   text, or things inside {} that need to be marked up.  it is
+   designed to make it easy to wrap a Python iterator around it, for
+   use with the Formatter class */
+
+typedef struct {
+    SubString str;
+    int in_markup;
+} MarkupIterator;
+
+static int
+MarkupIterator_init(MarkupIterator *self, STRINGLIB_CHAR *ptr, Py_ssize_t len)
+{
+    SubString_init(&self->str, ptr, len);
+    self->in_markup = 0;
+    return 1;
+}
+
+/* returns 0 on error, 1 on non-error termination, and 2 if it got a
+   string (or something to be expanded) */
+static int
+MarkupIterator_next(MarkupIterator *self, int *is_markup, SubString *literal,
+                    SubString *field_name, SubString *format_spec,
+                    STRINGLIB_CHAR *conversion,
+                    int *format_spec_needs_expanding)
+{
+    int at_end;
+    STRINGLIB_CHAR c = 0;
+    STRINGLIB_CHAR *start;
+    int count;
+    Py_ssize_t len;
+
+    *format_spec_needs_expanding = 0;
+
+    /* no more input, end of iterator */
+    if (self->str.ptr >= self->str.end)
+        return 1;
+
+    *is_markup = self->in_markup;
+    start = self->str.ptr;
+
+    if (self->in_markup) {
+
+        /* prepare for next iteration */
+        self->in_markup = 0;
+
+        /* this is markup, find the end of the string by counting nested
+           braces.  note that this prohibits escaped braces, so that
+           format_specs cannot have braces in them. */
+        count = 1;
+
+        /* we know we can't have a zero length string, so don't worry
+           about that case */
+        while (self->str.ptr < self->str.end) {
+            switch (c = *(self->str.ptr++)) {
+            case '{':
+                /* the format spec needs to be recursively expanded.
+                   this is an optimization, and not strictly needed */
+                *format_spec_needs_expanding = 1;
+                count++;
+                break;
+            case '}':
+                count--;
+                if (count <= 0) {
+                    /* we're done.  parse and get out */
+                    literal->ptr = start;
+                    literal->end = self->str.ptr-1;
+
+                    if (parse_field(literal, field_name, format_spec,
+                                    conversion) == 0)
+                        return 0;
+
+                    /* success */
+                    return 2;
+                }
+                break;
+            }
+        }
+        /* end of string while searching for matching '}' */
+        PyErr_SetString(PyExc_ValueError, "unmatched '{' in format");
+        return 0;
+
+    } else {
+        /* literal text, read until the end of string, an escaped { or },
+           or an unescaped { */
+        while (self->str.ptr < self->str.end) {
+            switch (c = *(self->str.ptr++)) {
+            case '{':
+            case '}':
+                self->in_markup = 1;
+                break;
+            default:
+                continue;
+            }
+            break;
+        }
+
+        at_end = self->str.ptr >= self->str.end;
+        len = self->str.ptr - start;
+
+        if ((c == '}') && (at_end || (c != *self->str.ptr)))
+            return (int)SetError("Single } encountered");
+        if (at_end && c == '{')
+            return (int)SetError("Single { encountered");
+        if (!at_end) {
+            if (c == *self->str.ptr) {
+                /* escaped } or {, skip it in the input */
+                self->str.ptr++;
+                self->in_markup = 0;
+            } else
+                len--;
+        }
+
+        /* this is just plain text, return it */
+        literal->ptr = start;
+        literal->end = start + len;
+        return 2;
+    }
+}
+
+
+/* do the !r or !s conversion on obj */
+static PyObject *
+do_conversion(PyObject *obj, STRINGLIB_CHAR conversion)
+{
+    /* XXX in pre-3.0, do we need to convert this to unicode, since it
+       might have returned a string? */
+    switch (conversion) {
+    case 'r':
+        return PyObject_Repr(obj);
+    case 's':
+        return PyObject_Unicode(obj);
+    default:
+        PyErr_Format(PyExc_ValueError,
+                     "Unknown converion specifier %c",
+                     conversion);
+        return NULL;
+    }
+}
+
+/* given:
+
+   {field_name!conversion:format_spec}
+
+   compute the result and write it to output.
+   format_spec_needs_expanding is an optimization.  if it's false,
+   just output the string directly, otherwise recursively expand the
+   format_spec string. */
+
+static int
+output_markup(SubString *field_name, SubString *format_spec,
+              int format_spec_needs_expanding, STRINGLIB_CHAR conversion,
+              OutputString *output, PyObject *args, PyObject *kwargs,
+              int *recursion_level)
+{
+    PyObject *tmp = NULL;
+    PyObject *fieldobj = NULL;
+    SubString expanded_format_spec;
+    SubString *actual_format_spec;
+    int result = 0;
+
+    /* convert field_name to an object */
+    fieldobj = get_field_object(field_name, args, kwargs);
+    if (fieldobj == NULL)
+        goto done;
+
+    if (conversion != '\0') {
+        tmp = do_conversion(fieldobj, conversion);
+        if (tmp == NULL)
+            goto done;
+
+        /* do the assignment, transferring ownership: fieldobj = tmp */
+        Py_DECREF(fieldobj);
+        fieldobj = tmp;
+        tmp = NULL;
+    }
+
+    /* if needed, recurively compute the format_spec */
+    if (format_spec_needs_expanding) {
+        tmp = build_string(format_spec, args, kwargs, recursion_level);
+        if (tmp == NULL)
+            goto done;
+
+        /* note that in the case we're expanding the format string,
+           tmp must be kept around until after the call to
+           render_field. */
+        SubString_init(&expanded_format_spec,
+                       STRINGLIB_STR(tmp), STRINGLIB_LEN(tmp));
+        actual_format_spec = &expanded_format_spec;
+    } else
+        actual_format_spec = format_spec;
+
+    if (render_field(fieldobj, actual_format_spec, output) == 0)
+        goto done;
+
+    result = 1;
+
+done:
+    Py_XDECREF(fieldobj);
+    Py_XDECREF(tmp);
+
+    return result;
+}
+
+/*
+    do_markup is the top-level loop for the format() function.  It
+    searches through the format string for escapes to markup codes, and
+    calls other functions to move non-markup text to the output,
+    and to perform the markup to the output.
+*/
+static int
+do_markup(SubString *input, PyObject *args, PyObject *kwargs,
+          OutputString *output, int *recursion_level)
+{
+    MarkupIterator iter;
+    int is_markup;
+    int format_spec_needs_expanding;
+    int result;
+    SubString str;
+    SubString field_name;
+    SubString format_spec;
+    STRINGLIB_CHAR conversion;
+
+    MarkupIterator_init(&iter, input->ptr, input->end - input->ptr);
+    while ((result = MarkupIterator_next(&iter, &is_markup, &str, &field_name,
+                                         &format_spec, &conversion,
+                                         &format_spec_needs_expanding)) == 2) {
+        if (is_markup) {
+            if (!output_markup(&field_name, &format_spec,
+                               format_spec_needs_expanding, conversion, output,
+                               args, kwargs, recursion_level))
+                return 0;
+        } else {
+            if (!output_data(output, str.ptr, str.end-str.ptr))
+                return 0;
+        }
+    }
+    return result;
+}
+
+
+/*
+    build_string allocates the output string and then
+    calls do_markup to do the heavy lifting.
+*/
+static PyObject *
+build_string(SubString *input, PyObject *args, PyObject *kwargs,
+             int *recursion_level)
+{
+    OutputString output;
+    PyObject *result = NULL;
+    Py_ssize_t count;
+
+    output.obj = NULL; /* needed so cleanup code always works */
+
+    /* check the recursion level */
+    (*recursion_level)--;
+    if (*recursion_level < 0) {
+        PyErr_SetString(PyExc_ValueError,
+                        "Max string recursion exceeded");
+        goto done;
+    }
+
+    /* initial size is the length of the format string, plus the size
+       increment.  seems like a reasonable default */
+    if (!output_initialize(&output,
+                           input->end - input->ptr +
+                           INITIAL_SIZE_INCREMENT))
+        goto done;
+
+    if (!do_markup(input, args, kwargs, &output, recursion_level)) {
+        goto done;
+    }
+
+    count = output.ptr - STRINGLIB_STR(output.obj);
+    if (STRINGLIB_RESIZE(&output.obj, count) < 0) {
+        goto done;
+    }
+
+    /* transfer ownership to result */
+    result = output.obj;
+    output.obj = NULL;
+
+done:
+    (*recursion_level)++;
+    Py_XDECREF(output.obj);
+    return result;
+}
+
+/************************************************************************/
+/*********** main routine ***********************************************/
+/************************************************************************/
+
+/* this is the main entry point */
+static PyObject *
+do_string_format(PyObject *self, PyObject *args, PyObject *kwargs)
+{
+    SubString input;
+
+    /* PEP 3101 says only 2 levels, so that
+       "{0:{1}}".format('abc', 's')            # works
+       "{0:{1:{2}}}".format('abc', 's', '')    # fails
+    */
+    int recursion_level = 2;
+
+    SubString_init(&input, STRINGLIB_STR(self), STRINGLIB_LEN(self));
+    return build_string(&input, args, kwargs, &recursion_level);
+}
diff --git a/Objects/stringlib/stringdefs.h b/Objects/stringlib/stringdefs.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..af9bbd6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Objects/stringlib/stringdefs.h
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+#ifndef STRINGLIB_STRINGDEFS_H
+#define STRINGLIB_STRINGDEFS_H
+
+/* this is sort of a hack.  there's at least one place (formatting
+   floats) where some stringlib code takes a different path if it's
+   compiled as unicode. */
+#define STRINGLIB_IS_UNICODE     0
+
+#define STRINGLIB_CHAR           char
+#define STRINGLIB_TYPE_NAME      "string"
+#define STRINGLIB_EMPTY          string_empty
+#define STRINGLIB_ISDECIMAL(x)   ((x >= '0') && (x <= '9'))
+#define STRINGLIB_TODECIMAL(x)   (STRINGLIB_ISDECIMAL(x) ? (x - '0') : -1)
+#define STRINGLIB_FILL           memset
+#define STRINGLIB_STR            PyString_AS_STRING
+#define STRINGLIB_LEN            PyString_GET_SIZE
+#define STRINGLIB_NEW            PyString_FromStringAndSize
+#define STRINGLIB_RESIZE         _PyString_Resize
+#define STRINGLIB_CHECK          PyString_Check
+#define STRINGLIB_CMP            memcmp
+#define STRINGLIB_TOSTR          PyObject_Str
+
+#endif /* !STRINGLIB_STRINGDEFS_H */
diff --git a/Objects/stringlib/unicodedefs.h b/Objects/stringlib/unicodedefs.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1fac2c3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Objects/stringlib/unicodedefs.h
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+#ifndef STRINGLIB_UNICODEDEFS_H
+#define STRINGLIB_UNICODEDEFS_H
+
+/* this is sort of a hack.  there's at least one place (formatting
+   floats) where some stringlib code takes a different path if it's
+   compiled as unicode. */
+#define STRINGLIB_IS_UNICODE     1
+
+#define STRINGLIB_CHAR           Py_UNICODE
+#define STRINGLIB_TYPE_NAME      "unicode"
+#define STRINGLIB_EMPTY          unicode_empty
+#define STRINGLIB_ISDECIMAL      Py_UNICODE_ISDECIMAL
+#define STRINGLIB_TODECIMAL      Py_UNICODE_TODECIMAL
+#define STRINGLIB_TOUPPER        Py_UNICODE_TOUPPER
+#define STRINGLIB_TOLOWER        Py_UNICODE_TOLOWER
+#define STRINGLIB_FILL           Py_UNICODE_FILL
+#define STRINGLIB_STR            PyUnicode_AS_UNICODE
+#define STRINGLIB_LEN            PyUnicode_GET_SIZE
+#define STRINGLIB_NEW            PyUnicode_FromUnicode
+#define STRINGLIB_RESIZE         PyUnicode_Resize
+#define STRINGLIB_CHECK          PyUnicode_Check
+#define STRINGLIB_TOSTR          PyObject_Unicode
+
+Py_LOCAL_INLINE(int)
+STRINGLIB_CMP(const Py_UNICODE* str, const Py_UNICODE* other, Py_ssize_t len)
+{
+    if (str[0] != other[0])
+        return 1;
+    return memcmp((void*) str, (void*) other, len * sizeof(Py_UNICODE));
+}
+
+#endif /* !STRINGLIB_UNICODEDEFS_H */
diff --git a/Objects/typeobject.c b/Objects/typeobject.c
index 222207c..4e5e09d 100644
--- a/Objects/typeobject.c
+++ b/Objects/typeobject.c
@@ -2933,11 +2933,52 @@
 	return _common_reduce(self, proto);
 }
 
+
+/*
+   from PEP 3101, this code implements:
+
+   class object:
+       def __format__(self, format_spec):
+           return format(str(self), format_spec)
+*/
+static PyObject *
+object_format(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
+{
+        PyObject *format_spec;
+        PyObject *self_as_str = NULL;
+        PyObject *result = NULL;
+        PyObject *format_meth = NULL;
+
+        if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "O:__format__", &format_spec))
+                return NULL;
+        if (!PyUnicode_Check(format_spec)) {
+                PyErr_SetString(PyExc_TypeError, "Unicode object required");
+                return NULL;
+        }
+
+        self_as_str = PyObject_Unicode(self);
+        if (self_as_str != NULL) {
+                /* find the format function */
+                format_meth = PyObject_GetAttrString(self_as_str, "__format__");
+                if (format_meth != NULL) {
+                       /* and call it */
+                        result = PyObject_CallFunctionObjArgs(format_meth, format_spec, NULL);
+                }
+        }
+
+        Py_XDECREF(self_as_str);
+        Py_XDECREF(format_meth);
+
+        return result;
+}
+
 static PyMethodDef object_methods[] = {
 	{"__reduce_ex__", object_reduce_ex, METH_VARARGS,
 	 PyDoc_STR("helper for pickle")},
 	{"__reduce__", object_reduce, METH_VARARGS,
 	 PyDoc_STR("helper for pickle")},
+        {"__format__", object_format, METH_VARARGS,
+         PyDoc_STR("default object formatter")},
 	{0}
 };
 
diff --git a/Objects/unicodeobject.c b/Objects/unicodeobject.c
index e227fc7..3052ebd 100644
--- a/Objects/unicodeobject.c
+++ b/Objects/unicodeobject.c
@@ -45,6 +45,8 @@
 #include "unicodeobject.h"
 #include "ucnhash.h"
 
+#include "formatter_unicode.h"
+
 #ifdef MS_WINDOWS
 #include <windows.h>
 #endif
@@ -5009,21 +5011,7 @@
 
 /* --- Helpers ------------------------------------------------------------ */
 
-#define STRINGLIB_CHAR Py_UNICODE
-
-#define STRINGLIB_LEN PyUnicode_GET_SIZE
-#define STRINGLIB_NEW PyUnicode_FromUnicode
-#define STRINGLIB_STR PyUnicode_AS_UNICODE
-
-Py_LOCAL_INLINE(int)
-STRINGLIB_CMP(const Py_UNICODE* str, const Py_UNICODE* other, Py_ssize_t len)
-{
-    if (str[0] != other[0])
-        return 1;
-    return memcmp((void*) str, (void*) other, len * sizeof(Py_UNICODE));
-}
-
-#define STRINGLIB_EMPTY unicode_empty
+#include "stringlib/unicodedefs.h"
 
 #include "stringlib/fastsearch.h"
 
@@ -7964,6 +7952,33 @@
     return PyBool_FromLong(result);
 }
 
+#include "stringlib/string_format.h"
+
+PyDoc_STRVAR(format__doc__,
+"S.format(*args, **kwargs) -> unicode\n\
+\n\
+");
+
+static PyObject *
+unicode_format(PyObject *self, PyObject *args, PyObject *kwds)
+{
+    /* this calls into stringlib/string_format.h because it can be
+       included for either string or unicode.  this is needed for
+       python 2.6. */
+    return do_string_format(self, args, kwds);
+}
+
+
+PyDoc_STRVAR(p_format__doc__,
+"S.__format__(format_spec) -> unicode\n\
+\n\
+");
+
+static PyObject *
+unicode__format__(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
+{
+    return unicode_unicode__format__(self, args);
+}
 
 
 static PyObject *
@@ -8019,6 +8034,8 @@
     {"isalnum", (PyCFunction) unicode_isalnum, METH_NOARGS, isalnum__doc__},
     {"isidentifier", (PyCFunction) unicode_isidentifier, METH_NOARGS, isidentifier__doc__},
     {"zfill", (PyCFunction) unicode_zfill, METH_VARARGS, zfill__doc__},
+    {"format", (PyCFunction) unicode_format, METH_VARARGS | METH_KEYWORDS, format__doc__},
+    {"__format__", (PyCFunction) unicode__format__, METH_VARARGS, p_format__doc__},
 #if 0
     {"capwords", (PyCFunction) unicode_capwords, METH_NOARGS, capwords__doc__},
 #endif
@@ -9124,6 +9141,205 @@
 }
 
 
+/********************* Formatter Iterator ************************/
+
+/* this is used to implement string.Formatter.vparse().  it exists so
+   Formatter can share code with the built in unicode.format()
+   method */
+
+typedef struct {
+	PyObject_HEAD
+
+        /* we know this to be a unicode object, but since we just keep
+           it around to keep the object alive, having it as PyObject
+           is okay */
+        PyObject *str;
+
+        MarkupIterator it_markup;
+} formatteriterobject;
+
+static void
+formatteriter_dealloc(formatteriterobject *it)
+{
+	_PyObject_GC_UNTRACK(it);
+	Py_XDECREF(it->str);
+	PyObject_GC_Del(it);
+}
+
+/* returns a tuple:
+   (is_markup, literal, field_name, format_spec, conversion)
+   if is_markup == True:
+        literal is None
+        field_name is the string before the ':'
+        format_spec is the string after the ':'
+        conversion is either None, or the string after the '!'
+   if is_markup == False:
+        literal is the literal string
+        field_name is None
+        format_spec is None
+        conversion is None
+*/
+static PyObject *
+formatteriter_next(formatteriterobject *it)
+{
+        SubString literal;
+        SubString field_name;
+        SubString format_spec;
+        Py_UNICODE conversion;
+        int is_markup;
+        int format_spec_needs_expanding;
+        int result = MarkupIterator_next(&it->it_markup, &is_markup, &literal,
+                                         &field_name, &format_spec, &conversion,
+                                         &format_spec_needs_expanding);
+
+        /* all of the SubString objects point into it->str, so no
+           memory management needs to be done on them */
+
+        if (result == 0) {
+                /* error has already been set */
+                return NULL;
+        } else if (result == 1) {
+                /* end of iterator */
+                return NULL;
+        } else {
+                PyObject *is_markup_bool = NULL;
+                PyObject *literal_str = NULL;
+                PyObject *field_name_str = NULL;
+                PyObject *format_spec_str = NULL;
+                PyObject *conversion_str = NULL;
+                PyObject *result = NULL;
+
+                assert(result == 2);
+
+                is_markup_bool = PyBool_FromLong(is_markup);
+                if (!is_markup_bool)
+                    goto error;
+
+                if (is_markup) {
+                        /* field_name, format_spec, and conversion are
+                           returned */
+                        literal_str = Py_None;
+                        Py_INCREF(literal_str);
+
+                        field_name_str = SubString_new_object(&field_name);
+                        if (field_name_str == NULL)
+                                goto error;
+
+                        format_spec_str = SubString_new_object(&format_spec);
+                        if (format_spec_str == NULL)
+                                goto error;
+
+                        /* if the conversion is not specified, return
+                           a None, otherwise create a one length
+                           string with the conversion characater */
+                        if (conversion == '\0') {
+                                conversion_str = Py_None;
+                                Py_INCREF(conversion_str);
+                        } else
+                            conversion_str = PyUnicode_FromUnicode(&conversion,
+                                                                   1);
+                        if (conversion_str == NULL)
+                                goto error;
+                } else {
+                        /* only literal is returned */
+                        literal_str = SubString_new_object(&literal);
+                        if (literal_str == NULL)
+                                goto error;
+
+                        field_name_str = Py_None;
+                        format_spec_str = Py_None;
+                        conversion_str = Py_None;
+
+                        Py_INCREF(field_name_str);
+                        Py_INCREF(format_spec_str);
+                        Py_INCREF(conversion_str);
+                }
+               /* return a tuple of values */
+                result = PyTuple_Pack(5, is_markup_bool, literal_str,
+                                      field_name_str, format_spec_str,
+                                      conversion_str);
+                if (result == NULL)
+                        goto error;
+
+                return result;
+        error:
+                Py_XDECREF(is_markup_bool);
+                Py_XDECREF(literal_str);
+                Py_XDECREF(field_name_str);
+                Py_XDECREF(format_spec_str);
+                Py_XDECREF(conversion_str);
+                Py_XDECREF(result);
+                return NULL;
+        }
+}
+
+static PyMethodDef formatteriter_methods[] = {
+ 	{NULL,		NULL}		/* sentinel */
+};
+
+PyTypeObject PyFormatterIter_Type = {
+	PyVarObject_HEAD_INIT(&PyType_Type, 0)
+	"formatteriterator",			/* tp_name */
+	sizeof(formatteriterobject),		/* tp_basicsize */
+	0,					/* tp_itemsize */
+	/* methods */
+	(destructor)formatteriter_dealloc,	/* tp_dealloc */
+	0,					/* tp_print */
+	0,					/* tp_getattr */
+	0,					/* tp_setattr */
+	0,					/* tp_compare */
+	0,					/* tp_repr */
+	0,					/* tp_as_number */
+	0,					/* tp_as_sequence */
+	0,					/* tp_as_mapping */
+	0,					/* tp_hash */
+	0,					/* tp_call */
+	0,					/* tp_str */
+	PyObject_GenericGetAttr,		/* tp_getattro */
+	0,					/* tp_setattro */
+	0,					/* tp_as_buffer */
+	Py_TPFLAGS_DEFAULT,			/* tp_flags */
+	0,					/* tp_doc */
+	0,					/* tp_traverse */
+	0,					/* tp_clear */
+	0,					/* tp_richcompare */
+	0,					/* tp_weaklistoffset */
+	PyObject_SelfIter,			/* tp_iter */
+	(iternextfunc)formatteriter_next,	/* tp_iternext */
+	formatteriter_methods,			/* tp_methods */
+	0,
+};
+
+PyObject *
+_unicodeformatter_iterator(PyObject *str)
+{
+        formatteriterobject *it;
+
+	it = PyObject_GC_New(formatteriterobject, &PyFormatterIter_Type);
+	if (it == NULL)
+		return NULL;
+
+        /* take ownership, give the object to the iterator */
+        Py_INCREF(str);
+        it->str = str;
+
+        /* initialize the contained MarkupIterator */
+        MarkupIterator_init(&it->it_markup,
+                            PyUnicode_AS_UNICODE(str),
+                            PyUnicode_GET_SIZE(str));
+
+	_PyObject_GC_TRACK(it);
+	return (PyObject *)it;
+}
+
+PyObject *
+_unicodeformatter_lookup(PyObject *field_name, PyObject *args,
+                         PyObject *kwargs)
+{
+        return NULL;
+}
+
+
 /********************* Unicode Iterator **************************/
 
 typedef struct {
diff --git a/Python/Python-ast.c b/Python/Python-ast.c
index 605a152..4c6f42c 100644
--- a/Python/Python-ast.c
+++ b/Python/Python-ast.c
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 
 /*
-   __version__ 56266.
+   __version__ .
 
    This module must be committed separately after each AST grammar change;
    The __version__ number is set to the revision number of the commit
@@ -3179,7 +3179,7 @@
         if (PyDict_SetItemString(d, "AST", (PyObject*)AST_type) < 0) return;
         if (PyModule_AddIntConstant(m, "PyCF_ONLY_AST", PyCF_ONLY_AST) < 0)
                 return;
-        if (PyModule_AddStringConstant(m, "__version__", "56266") < 0)
+        if (PyModule_AddStringConstant(m, "__version__", "") < 0)
                 return;
         if (PyDict_SetItemString(d, "mod", (PyObject*)mod_type) < 0) return;
         if (PyDict_SetItemString(d, "Module", (PyObject*)Module_type) < 0)
diff --git a/Python/bltinmodule.c b/Python/bltinmodule.c
index d087e9c..17f5b59 100644
--- a/Python/bltinmodule.c
+++ b/Python/bltinmodule.c
@@ -275,6 +275,61 @@
 If the predicate is None, 'lambda x: bool(x)' is assumed.\n\
 (This is identical to itertools.ifilter().)");
 
+static PyObject *
+builtin_format(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
+{
+        static PyObject * format_str = NULL;
+        PyObject *value;
+        PyObject *spec;
+        PyObject *meth;
+        PyObject *result;
+
+        /* Initialize cached value */
+        if (format_str == NULL) {
+                /* Initialize static variable needed by _PyType_Lookup */
+                format_str = PyUnicode_FromString("__format__");
+                if (format_str == NULL)
+                        return NULL;
+        }
+
+        if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "OO:format", &value, &spec))
+               return NULL;
+
+        /* Make sure the type is initialized.  float gets initialized late */
+        if (Py_Type(value)->tp_dict == NULL)
+                if (PyType_Ready(Py_Type(value)) < 0)
+                    return NULL;
+
+        /* Find the (unbound!) __format__ method (a borrowed reference) */
+        meth = _PyType_Lookup(Py_Type(value), format_str);
+        if (meth == NULL) {
+                PyErr_Format(PyExc_TypeError,
+                             "Type %.100s doesn't define __format__",
+                             Py_Type(value)->tp_name);
+                return NULL;
+        }
+
+        /* And call it, binding it to the value */
+        result = PyObject_CallFunctionObjArgs(meth, value, spec, NULL);
+
+#if 0
+        /* XXX this is segfaulting, not sure why.  find out later! */
+	if (!PyUnicode_Check(result)) {
+                PyErr_SetString(PyExc_TypeError,
+                                "__format__ method did not return string");
+                Py_DECREF(result);
+                return NULL;
+        }
+#endif
+
+        return result;
+}
+
+
+PyDoc_STRVAR(format_doc,
+"format(value, format_spec) -> string\n\
+\n\
+Returns value.__format__(format_spec).");
 
 static PyObject *
 builtin_chr8(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
@@ -1676,6 +1731,7 @@
  	{"eval",	builtin_eval,       METH_VARARGS, eval_doc},
 	{"exec",        builtin_exec,       METH_VARARGS, exec_doc},
  	{"filter",	builtin_filter,     METH_VARARGS, filter_doc},
+ 	{"format",	builtin_format,     METH_VARARGS, format_doc},
  	{"getattr",	builtin_getattr,    METH_VARARGS, getattr_doc},
  	{"globals",	(PyCFunction)builtin_globals,    METH_NOARGS, globals_doc},
  	{"hasattr",	builtin_hasattr,    METH_VARARGS, hasattr_doc},
diff --git a/Python/formatter_unicode.c b/Python/formatter_unicode.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..114fe30
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Python/formatter_unicode.c
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+/* implements the unicode (as opposed to string) version of the
+   built-in formatters for string, int, float.  that is, the versions
+   of int.__float__, etc., that take and return unicode objects */
+
+#include "Python.h"
+#include "formatter_unicode.h"
+
+#include "../Objects/stringlib/unicodedefs.h"
+
+#define FORMAT_STRING unicode_unicode__format__
+#define FORMAT_LONG   unicode_long__format__
+#define FORMAT_FLOAT  unicode_float__format__
+#include "../Objects/stringlib/formatter.h"
diff --git a/Python/sysmodule.c b/Python/sysmodule.c
index 6ccd3e9..10a7427 100644
--- a/Python/sysmodule.c
+++ b/Python/sysmodule.c
@@ -660,6 +660,54 @@
 	return _PyThread_CurrentFrames();
 }
 
+/* sys_formatter_iterator is used to implement
+   string.Formatter.vformat.  it parses a string and returns tuples
+   describing the parsed elements.  see unicodeobject.c's
+   _unicodeformatter_iterator for details */
+static PyObject *
+sys_formatter_iterator(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
+{
+        /* in 2.6, check type and dispatch to unicode or string
+           accordingly */
+        PyObject *str;
+
+        if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "O:_formatter_iterator", &str))
+                return NULL;
+
+        if (!PyUnicode_Check(str)) {
+                PyErr_SetString(PyExc_TypeError,
+                                "_formatter_iterator expects unicode object");
+                return NULL;
+        }
+
+        return _unicodeformatter_iterator(str);
+}
+
+/* sys_formatter_lookup is used to implement string.Formatter.vformat.
+   it takes an PEP 3101 "field name", args, and kwargs, and returns a
+   tuple (index, name, object).  see unicodeobject.c's
+   _unicodeformatter_lookup for details */
+static PyObject *
+sys_formatter_lookup(PyObject *self, PyObject *args)
+{
+        PyObject *field_name;
+        PyObject *arg_args;
+        PyObject *kwargs;
+
+        if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "OOO:_formatter_lookup", &field_name,
+                              &arg_args, &kwargs))
+                return NULL;
+
+        if (!PyUnicode_Check(field_name)) {
+                PyErr_SetString(PyExc_TypeError,
+                                "_formatter_lookup expects unicode object");
+                return NULL;
+        }
+
+        return _unicodeformatter_lookup(field_name, arg_args, kwargs);
+}
+
+
 PyDoc_STRVAR(call_tracing_doc,
 "call_tracing(func, args) -> object\n\
 \n\
@@ -724,6 +772,8 @@
 	 callstats_doc},
 	{"_current_frames", sys_current_frames, METH_NOARGS,
 	 current_frames_doc},
+        {"_formatter_parser", sys_formatter_iterator, METH_VARARGS},
+        {"_formatter_lookup", sys_formatter_lookup, METH_VARARGS},
 	{"displayhook",	sys_displayhook, METH_O, displayhook_doc},
 	{"exc_info",	sys_exc_info, METH_NOARGS, exc_info_doc},
 	{"excepthook",	sys_excepthook, METH_VARARGS, excepthook_doc},