ActionScript 3.0 Pad String Method | The Abstracts of My Brain

Problem: I use PHP a lot and am currently working on a project in ActionScript (Flash Builder). I found myself needing a method similar to str_pad. I found a couple online, but nothing as powerful as the one provided in PHP.

Solution: Write my own... here it is. You will find it is very similar to PHP's str_pad method. Also note, there could be a couple improvements in padded string generation, but this will do for now.

/**
 * Add a number of padding in front or back of a string.
 * @param string:String - The string to pad
 * @param length:uint - The final length of the string
 * @param pad_string:String - The string to use as padding
 * @param pad_left:Boolean - padding front or back of string
 */
public function padString(input:String, pad_length:uint, pad_string:String, pad_left:Boolean = true):String
{
    // return input if length greater than padded length
    if (input.length >= pad_length) return input;

    // generate padding
    var paddedString:String = "";
    for (var i:uint = 0; i < pad_length - input.length; i++)
        paddedString += pad_string;

    // concatonate results
    var resultStr:String = pad_left ? (paddedString + input) : (input + paddedString);

    // account for overflow if any
    if (resultStr.length > pad_length){
        // chop off extra from result based on pad_type
        if (pad_left)
            resultStr = resultStr.substr(resultStr.length - pad_length, resultStr.length);
        else
            resultStr = resultStr.substr(0, pad_length);
    }
    return resultStr;
}