03

03 is a two-character string consisting of the digit zero followed by the digit three. Its numeric value is 3, but as a string it is primarily used for padding and fixed-width formatting in various contexts, such as codes, identifiers, and version labels.

In date and time notation, 03 commonly denotes the third month, March, when used in two-digit month fields (for example, 2024-03-15). It can also appear as a day component, such as the third day of a month, in compact date representations.

In computing and data processing, leading zeros are often used to achieve uniform width. In some programming languages, a leading zero signals octal notation, so 03 may be interpreted as octal 3, which equals decimal 3. Other languages either do not treat 03 as octal or require explicit syntax to indicate octal values. This makes the interpretation of 03 dependent on the language and context.

Beyond numbers, 03 appears in naming schemes for documents, files, and software where two-digit fields are common. It is also used in product models, build numbers, and versioning systems to indicate a sequence or a specific variant.

See also: 3, leading zeros, octal notation, March.