[java] Add leading zeroes to number in Java?

Since Java 1.5 you can use the String.format method. For example, to do the same thing as your example:

String format = String.format("%0%d", digits);
String result = String.format(format, num);
return result;

In this case, you're creating the format string using the width specified in digits, then applying it directly to the number. The format for this example is converted as follows:

%% --> %
0  --> 0
%d --> <value of digits>
d  --> d

So if digits is equal to 5, the format string becomes %05d which specifies an integer with a width of 5 printing leading zeroes. See the java docs for String.format for more information on the conversion specifiers.