String to number conversion

[Meatsim]

Hello folks! Is there a function that converts a string to a number (or integer, or real) in perl? I'm trying to look it up in the perl book I have, but it's the classic "looking up a word you can't spell in the dictionary" problem.

Thanks!

-Meatsim

 

[tsdragon]

You shouldn't have to worry about it. If you use a string that contains a number as if it were a number, perl will treat it as a number. perl doesn't strongly type anything, so there's really no such thing as integers or reals in perl either - they're all treated as floating point numbers. For example, this code will work fine:

$pi = "3.14159";
$radius = "2";
$area = $pi * $radius * $radius;

If you need to strip out non-numeric characters first, you can use a regular expression to do that. Tracy Dryden
tracy@bydisn.com

http://www.bydisn.com

Meddle not in the affairs of dragons,
For you are crunchy, and good with mustard.