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[Tut] F-String Python Hex, Oct, and Bin: Efficient Number Conversions - xSicKxBot - 03-28-2023
F-String Python Hex, Oct, and Bin: Efficient Number Conversions
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<p>As a Python developer, I’ve always been fascinated by the simplicity and versatility of the language. Python has always been my go-to language for all my programming needs, from its clean syntax to the vast array of libraries available. I recently had to work on a project requiring me to convert numbers to their hexadecimal, octal, and binary representations. While there are several ways to do this in Python, I discovered the f-string <strong>Python Hex, Oct, and Bin methods</strong>, which turned out to be the most efficient and straightforward approach. In this blog post, I’ll share my personal experience with this method and show you how to use it to convert numbers efficiently.</p>
<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>
<h2>A Short Overview (Promised) <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f447.png" alt="?" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /></h2>
<p><a href="https://blog.finxter.com/string-formatting-vs-format-vs-formatted-string-literal/" data-type="post" data-id="13190" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Python’s f-strings</a>, also known as “formatted string literals”, have been introduced in Python 3.6 and offer a more efficient and readable way to format strings. They improve upon the older string formatting methods, such as using <code>%</code>-formatting and the <code><a href="https://blog.finxter.com/python-string-format/" data-type="post" data-id="26013" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">str.format()</a></code> method. </p>
<p>One of the key advantages of f-strings is their ability to handle various numeric representations, such as hexadecimal (hex), octal (oct), and binary (bin).</p>
<p>Handling hex, oct, and bin values in Python with f-strings is quite simple, thanks to the built-in support for these number systems. These can easily be incorporated into f-strings by using specific format specifiers within curly braces that contain the expressions to be evaluated and formatted at runtime. This allows you to seamlessly integrate hexadecimal, octal, and binary values into their strings without resorting to clumsier methods or additional function calls.</p>
<p class="has-global-color-8-background-color has-background">When working with f-strings in Python, you can use <strong><code>{variable:x}</code></strong> for hex, <strong><code>{variable:o}</code></strong> for oct, and <strong><code>{variable:b}</code></strong> for bin. </p>
<h2>F-String Basics</h2>
<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="798" height="532" src="https://blog.finxter.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image-378.png" alt="" class="wp-image-1248867" srcset="https://blog.finxter.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image-378.png 798w, https://blog.finxter.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image-378-300x200.png 300w, https://blog.finxter.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image-378-768x512.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 798px) 100vw, 798px" /></figure>
</div>
<p>One powerful feature of f-strings is their ability to format numbers in different bases, such as hexadecimal (hex), octal (oct), and binary (bin). To represent numbers in these formats, you can use the appropriate <a href="https://blog.finxter.com/python-strings-format-specification-mini-language/" data-type="post" data-id="12462" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">format specifier</a>:</p>
<ul>
<li>Hexadecimal: <code>{x:X}</code></li>
<li>Octal: <code>{x:o}</code></li>
<li>Binary: <code>{x:b}</code></li>
</ul>
<p>For example, to convert an integer into its hexadecimal representation, you can use the following f-string:</p>
<pre class="EnlighterJSRAW" data-enlighter-language="python" data-enlighter-theme="" data-enlighter-highlight="" data-enlighter-linenumbers="" data-enlighter-lineoffset="" data-enlighter-title="" data-enlighter-group="">x = 255
hex_string = f"x in hex is: {x:X}"
print(hex_string) # Output: "x in hex is: FF"
</pre>
<p>Similarly, for octal and binary representations, you can use the respective format specifiers within the f-string:</p>
<pre class="EnlighterJSRAW" data-enlighter-language="python" data-enlighter-theme="" data-enlighter-highlight="" data-enlighter-linenumbers="" data-enlighter-lineoffset="" data-enlighter-title="" data-enlighter-group="">x = 255
oct_string = f"x in oct is: {x:o}"
bin_string = f"x in bin is: {x:b}"
print(oct_string) # Output: "x in oct is: 377"
print(bin_string) # Output: "x in bin is: 11111111"
</pre>
<p>Using f-strings, you can create more readable and efficient code when working with different number systems in Python <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f525.png" alt="?" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />.</p>
<p class="has-base-background-color has-background"><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f4a1.png" alt="?" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> <strong>Recommended</strong>: <a href="https://blog.finxter.com/tips-to-write-clean-code/" data-type="post" data-id="17059" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">7 Tips to Clean Code</a></p>
<h2>Formatting Numerical Values with F-Strings</h2>
<p>To format a number in <strong>hexadecimal</strong> with f-strings, you can use the format specifier <code>{variable:x}</code>. If you want zero padding, use the format specifier <code>{variable:0Nx}</code>, where <code>N</code> is the desired number of digit characters.</p>
<pre class="EnlighterJSRAW" data-enlighter-language="python" data-enlighter-theme="" data-enlighter-highlight="" data-enlighter-linenumbers="" data-enlighter-lineoffset="" data-enlighter-title="" data-enlighter-group="">x = 255
hex_string = f"0x{value:02x}"
# Output: "0xff"
</pre>
<p>Similarly, to format a number in <strong>octal</strong> representation, use the format specifier <code>{variable:o}</code>.</p>
<pre class="EnlighterJSRAW" data-enlighter-language="python" data-enlighter-theme="" data-enlighter-highlight="" data-enlighter-linenumbers="" data-enlighter-lineoffset="" data-enlighter-title="" data-enlighter-group="">y = 63
octal_string = f"0o{y:03o}"
# Output: "0o077"
</pre>
<p>For <strong>binary</strong> representation, you can use the format specifier <code>{variable:b}</code>.</p>
<pre class="EnlighterJSRAW" data-enlighter-language="python" data-enlighter-theme="" data-enlighter-highlight="" data-enlighter-linenumbers="" data-enlighter-lineoffset="" data-enlighter-title="" data-enlighter-group="">z = 10
binary_string = f"0b{z:04b}"
# Output: "0b1010"
</pre>
<p><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f4a1.png" alt="?" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> In addition to numerical formats, you can also use other format specifiers like:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Decimal</strong>: <code>{variable:d}</code></li>
<li><strong>Floating-point</strong>: <code>{variable:.Nf}</code> (where <code>N</code> is the number of decimal places to round)</li>
<li><strong>Percentage</strong>: <code>{variable:.N%}</code></li>
</ul>
<h2>Hexadecimal Representation</h2>
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<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="798" height="532" src="https://blog.finxter.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image-377.png" alt="" class="wp-image-1248860" srcset="https://blog.finxter.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image-377.png 798w, https://blog.finxter.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image-377-300x200.png 300w, https://blog.finxter.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image-377-768x512.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 798px) 100vw, 798px" /></figure>
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<p>You can easily represent numbers in hexadecimal notation using f-strings in Python. Hexadecimal is a base-16 numeric system that uses sixteen distinct symbols – <code>0-9</code> representing zero to nine and <code>A-F</code> for ten to fifteen. It is widely used in computer programming and digital electronics.</p>
<p>You can use the format specifier within curly braces to convert a number to its hexadecimal representation using f-strings. For example:</p>
<pre class="EnlighterJSRAW" data-enlighter-language="python" data-enlighter-theme="" data-enlighter-highlight="" data-enlighter-linenumbers="" data-enlighter-lineoffset="" data-enlighter-title="" data-enlighter-group="">number = 255
hex_num = f"{number:x}"
print(hex_num) # Output: "ff"
</pre>
<p>The same can be achieved using the <code><a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://blog.finxter.com/python-format-function/" data-type="post" data-id="22855" target="_blank">format()</a></code> function:</p>
<pre class="EnlighterJSRAW" data-enlighter-language="python" data-enlighter-theme="" data-enlighter-highlight="" data-enlighter-linenumbers="" data-enlighter-lineoffset="" data-enlighter-title="" data-enlighter-group="">number = 255
hex_num = format(number, 'x')
print(hex_num) # Output: "ff"
</pre>
<p>You can also include the <code>0x</code> prefix by using the <code>#</code> flag in the format specifier:</p>
<pre class="EnlighterJSRAW" data-enlighter-language="python" data-enlighter-theme="" data-enlighter-highlight="" data-enlighter-linenumbers="" data-enlighter-lineoffset="" data-enlighter-title="" data-enlighter-group="">number = 255
hex_num = f"{number:#x}"
print(hex_num) # Output: "0xff"
</pre>
<p>Hexadecimal representation can be helpful in various situations, such as when working with colors in CSS or addressing memory locations in computer systems. <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f5a5.png" alt="?" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f3a8.png" alt="?" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /></p>
<h2>Octal Representation</h2>
<p>In Python, working with octal representations is smooth and straightforward thanks to built-in functions and f-strings. An octal number system has a base of 8, which means it uses eight symbols: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. Converting between decimal and octal values can be accomplished with ease.</p>
<p class="has-base-background-color has-background"><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f4a1.png" alt="?" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> <strong>Recommended</strong>: <a href="https://blog.finxter.com/python-conversions-decimal-binary-octal-hex/" data-type="post" data-id="26752" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Python Conversions: Decimal + Binary + Octal + Hex</a></p>
<figure class="wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube"><a href="https://blog.finxter.com/f-string-python-hex-oct-and-bin-efficient-number-conversions/"><img src="https://blog.finxter.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-youtube-lyte/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2Fv_BEUy3mOfg%2Fhqdefault.jpg" alt="YouTube Video"></a><figcaption></figcaption></figure>
<p>To obtain the octal representation of an integer in Python, simply use the <code><a href="https://blog.finxter.com/python-oct-function/" data-type="post" data-id="24365" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">oct()</a></code> function. This function takes an integer as input and returns its octal representation as a string:</p>
<pre class="EnlighterJSRAW" data-enlighter-language="python" data-enlighter-theme="" data-enlighter-highlight="" data-enlighter-linenumbers="" data-enlighter-lineoffset="" data-enlighter-title="" data-enlighter-group="">octal_value = oct(42) # 42 in decimal equals '0o52' in octal
</pre>
<p>With f-strings, you can elegantly include octal values directly in your strings. To do this, use the format specifier <code>{value:#o}</code> within an f-string:</p>
<pre class="EnlighterJSRAW" data-enlighter-language="python" data-enlighter-theme="" data-enlighter-highlight="" data-enlighter-linenumbers="" data-enlighter-lineoffset="" data-enlighter-title="" data-enlighter-group="">number = 42
formatted_string = f"The octal representation of {number} is {number:#o}"
# Output: "The octal representation of 42 is 0o52"
</pre>
<p>Here are some essential points to remember when working with octal representations in Python:</p>
<ul>
<li>Octal literals can be defined by adding a <code>0o</code> prefix to the number: <code>octal_number = 0o52</code>.</li>
<li>Using arithmetic operations on octal numbers works the same as on decimal numbers: <code>result = 0o52 + 0o10</code>.</li>
<li>Convert between integer and octal string representations with the <code><a href="https://blog.finxter.com/python-int-function/" data-type="post" data-id="22715" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">int()</a></code> and <code>oct()</code> functions, respectively.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Binary Representation</h2>
<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="798" height="532" src="https://blog.finxter.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image-376.png" alt="" class="wp-image-1248859" srcset="https://blog.finxter.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image-376.png 798w, https://blog.finxter.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image-376-300x200.png 300w, https://blog.finxter.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image-376-768x512.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 798px) 100vw, 798px" /></figure>
</div>
<p>In Python, f-strings are a convenient option for formatting strings, which can be used for various purposes like binary, octal, and hexadecimal representations. In this section, we’ll focus on the binary representation using f-strings. <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f604.png" alt="?" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /></p>
<p>To display a binary value of an integer using f-strings, you can use the formatting specifier <code>b</code> followed by the variable you want to convert inside the curly braces. The syntax looks like this: <code>f"{variable:b}"</code>. </p>
<p>As an example, let’s say we want to display the binary representation of the number 5:</p>
<pre class="EnlighterJSRAW" data-enlighter-language="python" data-enlighter-theme="" data-enlighter-highlight="" data-enlighter-linenumbers="" data-enlighter-lineoffset="" data-enlighter-title="" data-enlighter-group="">number = 5
binary_representation = f"{number:b}"
print(binary_representation) # Output: 101
</pre>
<p>Now, you can use a loop to display binary representations for a range of numbers. Let’s say we want to print binary values for numbers 0 to 5:</p>
<pre class="EnlighterJSRAW" data-enlighter-language="python" data-enlighter-theme="" data-enlighter-highlight="" data-enlighter-linenumbers="" data-enlighter-lineoffset="" data-enlighter-title="" data-enlighter-group="">for i in range(6): print(f"{i} in binary is {i:08b}")
</pre>
<p>This will output the following:</p>
<pre class="EnlighterJSRAW" data-enlighter-language="generic" data-enlighter-theme="" data-enlighter-highlight="" data-enlighter-linenumbers="" data-enlighter-lineoffset="" data-enlighter-title="" data-enlighter-group="">0 in binary is 00000000
1 in binary is 00000001
2 in binary is 00000010
3 in binary is 00000011
4 in binary is 00000100
5 in binary is 00000101
</pre>
<p>Note the use of <code>08b</code> within the f-string. The number 8 indicates the minimum width, and leading zeros are used to fill any remaining space. This ensures that binary values are displayed with a consistent width, making the output easier to read. <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f913.png" alt="?" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /></p>
<h2>Conversion Functions</h2>
<p>This section will focus on Python’s f-string capabilities for converting between hexadecimal, octal, and binary number systems. The primary goal is to make these conversions as simple as possible using f-string syntax.</p>
<h3>Int to Hex, Oct, and Bin</h3>
<p>When working with integers, you can easily convert them to their corresponding hexadecimal, octal, and binary representations using f-string formatting. Here are some examples:</p>
<pre class="EnlighterJSRAW" data-enlighter-language="python" data-enlighter-theme="" data-enlighter-highlight="" data-enlighter-linenumbers="" data-enlighter-lineoffset="" data-enlighter-title="" data-enlighter-group="">hex_number = 255
oct_number = 127
bin_number = 101 hex_string = f"{hex_number:x}"
oct_string = f"{oct_number:o}"
bin_string = f"{bin_number:b}"
</pre>
<p>This simple f-string syntax allows you to convert integers to their corresponding representation within an f-string using the <code>'x'</code>, <code>'o'</code>, and <code>'b'</code> format specifiers.</p>
<h3>String to Hex, Oct, and Bin</h3>
<p>For converting strings to their hexadecimal, octal, and binary representations, you can use the following approach:</p>
<pre class="EnlighterJSRAW" data-enlighter-language="python" data-enlighter-theme="" data-enlighter-highlight="" data-enlighter-linenumbers="" data-enlighter-lineoffset="" data-enlighter-title="" data-enlighter-group="">import binascii text = "Hello, World!" # Convert the string to bytes
text_bytes = text.encode('utf-8') # Use binascii to convert bytes to hex, oct, and bin
hex_string = binascii.hexlify(text_bytes).decode('utf-8')
oct_string = "".join([f"{char:o}" for char in text_bytes])
bin_string = "".join([f"{char:08b}" for char in text_bytes])
</pre>
<p>In this example, we first convert the string to bytes using the <code>'utf-8'</code> encoding. Then we utilize the <code><a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://blog.finxter.com/python-convert-hex-string-to-binary/" data-type="post" data-id="847708" target="_blank">binas</a></code>cii module to convert bytes to their hexadecimal representation. We use <a href="https://blog.finxter.com/list-comprehension/" data-type="post" data-id="1171" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">list comprehension</a> and f-string formatting for octal and binary conversions to achieve the same result.</p>
<p>Incorporating f-strings allows you to conveniently and efficiently perform conversions between various number systems in Python. This technique can be particularly beneficial when dealing with data representation and manipulation tasks. <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f60a.png" alt="?" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /></p>
<h2>Formatting Specifiers and F-Strings</h2>
<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="798" height="532" src="https://blog.finxter.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image-375.png" alt="" class="wp-image-1248855" srcset="https://blog.finxter.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image-375.png 798w, https://blog.finxter.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image-375-300x200.png 300w, https://blog.finxter.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image-375-768x512.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 798px) 100vw, 798px" /></figure>
</div>
<p>The formatted string literals allow you to embed expressions inside the string, which are evaluated and formatted using the <code><a href="https://blog.finxter.com/python-__format__-magic-method/" data-type="post" data-id="139819" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">__format__</a></code> protocol.</p>
<p>Formatting numbers in hex, oct, and bin is quite easy with f-strings. Here are some examples:</p>
<ul>
<li>Hexadecimal: <code>f"{number:x}"</code></li>
<li>Octal: <code>f"{number:o}"</code></li>
<li>Binary: <code>f"{number:b}"</code></li>
</ul>
<p>You have the option to add formatting specifiers and padding to your f-Strings. For instance, you can center the output and add zero-padding:</p>
<pre class="EnlighterJSRAW" data-enlighter-language="python" data-enlighter-theme="" data-enlighter-highlight="" data-enlighter-linenumbers="" data-enlighter-lineoffset="" data-enlighter-title="" data-enlighter-group="">f" {data:^14s}" .format(f" {data:#04x}")</pre>
<p>This snippet first converts the data to hexadecimal using <code>{data:#04x}</code> and then centers the output with <code>{data:^14s}</code> (from <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/questions/52843385/python-using-format-f-string-to-output-hex-with-0-padding-and-center" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Stack Overflow</a>).</p>
<p>Here’s a brief table that demonstrates how to format numbers using f-Strings:</p>
<figure class="wp-block-table is-style-stripes">
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>Type</th>
<th>Example</th>
<th>Output</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Hexadecimal</td>
<td><code>f"{15:x}"</code></td>
<td>f</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Octal</td>
<td><code>f"{15:o}"</code></td>
<td>17</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Binary</td>
<td><code>f"{15:b}"</code></td>
<td>1111</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</figure>
<p>Utilizing f-Strings and various formatting specifiers can help you efficiently manage complex string formatting tasks in your Python projects <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f603.png" alt="?" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />.</p>
<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>
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