How to Convert String to Number in Ruby

In this article, you will learn how to convert string to number in Ruby.

Converting string to number

In Ruby, you can convert a string to a number using several built-in methods. Here are some examples:

to_i method

Converts a string to an integer.

string_num = "123"
int_num = string_num.to_i
puts int_num  # Output: 123

to_f method

Converts a string to a floating-point number.

string_num = "3.14"
float_num = string_num.to_f
puts float_num  # Output: 3.14

to_r method

Converts a string to a rational number.

string_num = "2/3"
rational_num = string_num.to_r
puts rational_num  # Output: (2/3)

to_c method

Converts a string to a complex number.

string_num = "3+4i"
complex_num = string_num.to_c
puts complex_num  # Output: (3+4i)

Note that if the string contains non-numeric characters, the conversion may not succeed and the result will be 0 or nil, depending on the method used. Therefore, it’s important to ensure that the string contains only numeric characters before attempting to convert it to a number.