How to Safely Convert Locale-Specific String Numbers to Floats in Python?

How to Convert a String with Dot and Comma into a Float in Python

Using Localization Services

Default Locale

The Python locale module offers an interface to C-based localization routines.

import locale
locale.atof('123,456.908')

However, this approach requires explicitly setting the locale to match the platform's settings:

locale.setlocale(locale.LC_ALL, '')

Locale from Environment

Alternatively, you can obtain locale settings from the environment:

locale.setlocale(locale.LC_ALL, "")
locale.atof("123,456.908")

Explicit Locale Setting

You can also specify a specific locale by name:

locale.setlocale(locale.LC_NUMERIC, 'en_DK.UTF-8')
locale.atof('123,456.789') # Returns 123.456789 with period as thousands separator

Caveats

Setting the locale globally affects the entire program and should be done with caution. Extension modules should not call setlocale().

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