How to convert a string to float/integer and vice versa in Python

Learn type conversion between string, float, and integer in Python.

A data type defines the type of operations that can be performed on the data stored in a variable, these data types support type conversion which means to convert one data type into another based on some assumptions and rules.

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In this article, we will see how a string data type can be converted into float/int and vice versa.

1. String to Float/Integer¶

Python has built-in functions that help a user in typecasting one format into another. Conversion from string to float is done using the float() function.

Example:

number_as_string = "3.14159"
number_as_float = float(number_as_string)
print(number_as_float)

Output:

3.14159

Typecasting an integer data type into a string is similar if the number to be converted is not a decimal number.

Example:

number_as_string = "67"
number_as_integer = int(number_as_string)
print(number_as_integer )

Output:

67

If the string value is a decimal number, using int() will through a ValueError.

First, the string value needs to be typecasted into a float and then into an integer. The result will include the whole number part of the float, as the decimal part is discarded during float to int conversion.

Example:

```python number_as_string = "3.14159" number_as_float = float(number_as_string) number_as_integer = int(number_as_float) print(number_as_integer)

Output:
```console
3

A ValueError is also thrown in any other case where the string cannot be converted to a number. To be on the safe side, we could wrap the casting in a try-except block:

Example:

try:
    number_as_string = "3.14aaa159"
    n = float(number_as_string)
except ValueError:
    print(f"{number_as_string} cannot be converted to a number")

2. Float/Integer to String¶

Both float and integer can be converted into a string using the str() function.

Example:

```python number_as_float = 3.14159 number_as_string = str(number_as_float) print(number_as_string, type(number_as_string))

number_as_integer = 67 number_as_string = str(number_as_integer) print(number_as_string, type(number_as_string))

Output:
```console
3.14159 <class 'str'>
67 <class 'str'>