Convert Number to Float in Python

Question

Say I have a variable x. It currently holds the value 4 (x = 4). How would I change the value of x to a floating point number (such as 4.4, or 4.0)? The only thing I can think of is a reassignment, but I feel like this just isn't the right way to do it.

x = x + 0.0

Is there any way to do this with something like a standard library function or without reassignment?

You don't need to do it, Python will automagically change the data type of a variable based on what you do with it. For example, if x = 4, then you divide it by 3 by doing: x = x / 3 or (x /= 3), you will turn x into a float — Ol' Reliable
– Ol' Reliable, Commented Apr 10, 2014 at 2:24
@Ol'Reliable Unfortunately, division is probably the worst example to choose here, because in python2 your example would have returned 1 because it would assume integer division since both numbers are integers. Perhaps the OP is using python2 and wants to turn the numbers into floats for this exact reason. — SethMMorton
– SethMMorton, Commented Apr 10, 2014 at 4:40

shaktimaan · Accepted Answer · 2014-04-10 02:18:35Z

3

Cast it to float using the pythong in-built function float():

In [154]: x = 4
In [155]: float(x)
Out[155]: 4.0

x = float(x) is all you need.

edited Apr 10, 2014 at 2:18

answered Apr 10, 2014 at 2:11

shaktimaan

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1 Comment

arshajii Over a year ago

You really want x = float(x), but it's the same idea.

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