Type Conversion in Python

Python defines type conversion functions to directly convert one data type to another which is useful in day to day and competitive programming. This article is aimed at providing information about certain conversion functions.

There are two types of Type Conversion in Python:

• Implicit Type Conversion
• Explicit Type Conversion
  Let’s discuss them in detail.

Implicit Type Conversion
In Implicit type conversion of data types in Python, the Python interpreter automatically converts one data type to another without any user involvement. To get a more clear view of the topic see the below examples.

Example:

x = 10

print("x is of type:",type(x))

y = 10.6
print("y is of type:",type(y))

x = x + y

print(x)
print("x is of type:",type(x))
Output:

x is of type: <class 'int'>
y is of type: <class 'float'>
20.6
x is of type: <class 'float'>
As we can see the type od ‘x’ got automatically changed to the “float” type from the “integer” type. this is a simple case of Implicit type conversion in python.

Explicit Type Conversion
In Explicit Type Conversion in Python, the data type is manually changed by the user as per their requirement. Various form of explicit type conversion are explained below:

1. int(a, base): This function converts any data type to integer. ‘Base’ specifies the base in which string is if the data type is a string.
2. float(): This function is used to convert any data type to a floating-point number
.

# Python code to demonstrate Type conversion
# using int(), float()

# initializing string
s = "10010"

# printing string converting to int base 2
c = int(s,2)
print ("After converting to integer base 2 : ", end="")
print (c)

# printing string converting to float
e = float(s)
print ("After converting to float : ", end="")
print (e)
Output:

After converting to integer base 2 : 18
After converting to float : 10010.0
3. ord() : This function is used to convert a character to integer.
4. hex() : This function is to convert integer to hexadecimal string.
5. oct() : This function is to convert integer to octal string.

# Python code to demonstrate Type conversion
# using ord(), hex(), oct()

# initializing integer
s = '4'

# printing character converting to integer
c = ord(s)
print ("After converting character to integer : ",end="")
print (c)

# printing integer converting to hexadecimal string
c = hex(56)
print ("After converting 56 to hexadecimal string : ",end="")
print (c)

# printing integer converting to octal string
c = oct(56)
print ("After converting 56 to octal string : ",end="")
print (c)
Output:

After converting character to integer : 52
After converting 56 to hexadecimal string : 0x38
After converting 56 to octal string : 0o70
6. tuple() : This function is used to convert to a tuple.
7. set() : This function returns the type after converting to set.
8. list() : This function is used to convert any data type to a list type.

# Python code to demonstrate Type conversion
# using tuple(), set(), list()

# initializing string
s = 'prutor'

# printing string converting to tuple
c = tuple(s)
print ("After converting string to tuple : ",end="")
print (c)

# printing string converting to set
c = set(s)
print ("After converting string to set : ",end="")
print (c)

# printing string converting to list
c = list(s)
print ("After converting string to list : ",end="")
print (c)
Output:

After converting string to tuple : ('g', 'e', 'e', 'k', 's')
After converting string to set : {'k', 'e', 's', 'g'}
After converting string to list : ['g', 'e', 'e', 'k', 's']
9. dict() : This function is used to convert a tuple of order (key,value) into a dictionary.
10. str() : Used to convert integer into a string.
11. complex(real,imag) : : This function converts real numbers to complex(real,imag) number.

# Python code to demonstrate Type conversion
# using dict(), complex(), str()

# initializing integers
a = 1
b = 2

# initializing tuple
tup = (('a', 1) ,('f', 2), ('g', 3))

# printing integer converting to complex number
c = complex(1,2)
print ("After converting integer to complex number : ",end="")
print (c)

# printing integer converting to string
c = str(a)
print ("After converting integer to string : ",end="")
print (c)

# printing tuple converting to expression dictionary
c = dict(tup)
print ("After converting tuple to dictionary : ",end="")
print (c)
Output:

After converting integer to complex number : (1+2j)
After converting integer to string : 1
After converting tuple to dictionary : {'a': 1, 'f': 2, 'g': 3}

12. chr(number) : : This function converts number to its corresponding ASCII character.

# Convert ASCII value to characters
a = chr(76)
b = chr(77)

print(a)
print(b)
Output:

L
M