Types conversion

Python has several useful built-in features that allow data to be converted from one type to another.

int

int converts a string to int:

In [1]: int("10")
Out[1]: 10

Using int function you can convert a binary number into a decimal number (binary number must be written as a string)

In [2]: int("11111111", 2)
Out[2]: 255

bin

You can convert a decimal number to binary format with bin:

In [3]: bin(10)
Out[3]: '0b1010'

In [4]: bin(255)
Out[4]: '0b11111111'

hex

A similar function exists for conversion to hexadecimal format:

In [5]: hex(10)
Out[5]: '0xa'

In [6]: hex(255)
Out[6]: '0xff'

list

Function list converts an argument to a list:

In [7]: list("string")
Out[7]: ['s', 't', 'r', 'i', 'n', 'g']

In [8]: list({1, 2, 3})
Out[8]: [1, 2, 3]

In [9]: list((1, 2, 3, 4))
Out[9]: [1, 2, 3, 4]

set

Function set converts an argument into a set:

In [10]: set([1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 4])
Out[10]: {1, 2, 3, 4}

In [11]: set((1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 4))
Out[11]: {1, 2, 3, 4}

In [12]: set("string string")
Out[12]: {' ', 'g', 'i', 'n', 'r', 's', 't'}

This function is very useful when you need to get unique elements in a sequence.

tuple

Function tuple converts argument into a tuple:

In [13]: tuple([1, 2, 3, 4])
Out[13]: (1, 2, 3, 4)

In [14]: tuple({1, 2, 3, 4})
Out[14]: (1, 2, 3, 4)

In [15]: tuple("string")
Out[15]: ('s', 't', 'r', 'i', 'n', 'g')

This can be useful if you want an immutable object.

str

Function str converts an argument into a string:

In [16]: str(10)
Out[16]: '10'