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Python String to Int Or None

Learning Python and a little bit stuck.

I'm trying to set a variable to equal int(stringToInt) or if the string is empty set to None.

I tried to do variable = int(stringToInt) or None but if the string is empty it will error instead of just setting it to None.

Do you know any way around this?

Solution

  • If you want a one-liner like you've attempted, go with this:

    variable = int(stringToInt) if stringToInt else None

    This will assign variable to int(stringToInt) only if stringToInt is not empty AND is "numeric". If, for example stringToInt is 'mystring', a ValueError will be raised. If stringToInt is empty (''), it will assign variable to None.

    To avoid ValueErrors, use a try-except:

    try:
    variable = int(stringToInt)
except ValueError:
    variable = None