Python: convert str to int inside a recursive function

Question

I am learning about recursive functions and I have made a simple "string to ASCII" converter which returns the ASCII value of each character of a string.

Here is what I have made so far:

def cod(n):
    if n == "":
        return "" 
    else:
        a = str(ord(n[0])) + cod(n[1:])
        return a

This works fine like this:

=> cod('hello')
=> '104101108108111'

The problem is when I am trying to get an int as output instead of a string. I can't simply convert variable a because it's a recursive function, and it's not possible to iterate over an int.

After this point I am a little lost, can someone point out how to get an int as a final result of this recursive function?

On the example i gave 'cod('hello')', it's the same '104101108108111' but in int format instead of str... — Marcos Lopes
– Marcos Lopes, Commented Dec 10, 2015 at 17:07
Make cod return integers. Have it return 0 if n == "" and also convert cod to an str before adding. Then convert a to an int. — Open AI - Opting Out
– Open AI - Opting Out, Commented Dec 10, 2015 at 17:08
Do you want to return the sum of ord or to cast the string into an int at the end? i.e. is your desired output 104101108108111 or 532? — Vincent Savard
– Vincent Savard, Commented Dec 10, 2015 at 17:09

Ali Nikneshan · Accepted Answer · 2015-12-10 17:13:37Z

1

def cod(n):
    if n == "":
        return "" 
    else:
        a = str(ord(n[0])) + str(cod(n[1:]))
        return int(a)

edited Dec 10, 2015 at 17:13

answered Dec 10, 2015 at 17:13

Ali Nikneshan

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1 Comment

Marcos Lopes Over a year ago

Thank you, that is it. It's the solution PeterWood pointed out, i was overcomplicating :)

Hossain Muctadir · Accepted Answer · 2015-12-10 17:25:48Z

0

You might want to create another method for returning integer. Just to keep the code clean,

def cod(n):
    if n == "":
        return "" 
    else:
        a = str(ord(n[0])) + cod(n[1:])
        return a

def codI(n):
    return int(cod(n))


print type(codI("hello")) 
print type(cod("hello"))

answered Dec 10, 2015 at 17:25

Hossain Muctadir

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