sliceconv

Sliceconv implements conversions to and from string representations of primitive types on entire slices. The package supports types int, float64, bool, and string. This package takes its cue from the Golang standard library's strconv.

Installation

If you do not have Go installed yet, you can find installation instructions here.

To pull the most recent version of sliceconv, use go get.

go get -u github.com/Henry-Sarabia/sliceconv

Then import the package into your project.

import "github.com/Henry-Sarabia/sliceconv"

Usage

Strings to Integers

As an example, assume you have a list of test scores as a slice of strings. You mean to find the highest score by passing the list into a findMax function. Unfortunately, the function has the signature findMax([]int) int. Using sliceconv, simply convert the slice of strings into a slice of ints to resolve the issue.

scores := []string{"98", "85", "100", "76", "92"}

ints, err := sliceconv.Atoi(scores)
if err != nil {
	// handle error
}

max := findMax(ints)
// output: 100

Be aware that the sliceconv.Atoi function fulfills the same contract as its counterpart strconv.Atoi. That is to say, the Atoi functions treat the strings as integers in base 10 and will return an error if any of the resulting integers cannot fit into the regular int type.

Integers to Strings

This time around, assume you still have a list of test scores but as a slice of ints. You mean to format a class report card by passing the list of scores into a formatReport function. With a streak of bad luck, the function has the signature formatReport([]string) string. With sliceconv, you can just convert the slice of ints into a slice of strings to satisfy the requirements.

scores := []int{98, 85, 100, 76, 92}

str := sliceconv.Itoa(scores)
report := formatReport(str)
// output: student_1: 98, student_2: 85, ..., student_5: 92

Similarly to sliceconv.Atoi, the sliceconv.Itoa function assumes the integers are in base 10.

Strings to Floats

Sticking to the test score example, assume you have a list of test scores as a slice of strings. You mean to find the average score by passing the list into an averaging function with the signature findAvg([]float64) float64. Taking advantage of sliceconv, you can convert the entire list of strings into a slice of floats.

scores := []string{"98.5", "85.1", "100", "76.9", "92.3"}

flts, err := sliceconv.Atof(scores)
if err != nil {
	// handle error
}

avg := findAvg(flts)
// output: 90.56

Be aware that the sliceconv.Atof function assumes the stringified floats have a bitsize of 64.

Floats to Strings

Again, assume you have a list of test scores but as a slice of float64s. You mean to format a class report card by passing the list of scores into a formatReport function. The function has the following signature: formatReport([]string) string. Using sliceconv, simply convert the slice of float64s into a slice of strings for the formatReport function.

scores := []float64{98.5, 85.1, 100, 76.9, 92.3}

str := sliceconv.Ftoa(scores)
report := formatReport(str)
// output: student_1: 98.5, student_2: 85.1, ..., student_5: 92.3

Please take note that the sliceconv.Ftoa function will fulfill the following contract: the string representation of the provided floats will have no exponent, the smallest precision needed to properly represent the number, and a bitsize of 64.

Strings to Bools

Let's assume a slightly more contrived example to get things going. Assume you have student's answer to a question asking them to list out the truth table for a logical conjuction. The answer is provided as a two dimensional slice. You have a function checkTable but it expects a 2D slice of bools, not strings. To resolve this, you can simply iterate through the slices and pass them each into one of the sliceconv functions.

str := []string{
	[]string{"T", "T", "T"},
    []string{"T", "F", "F"},
    []string{"F", "T", "F"},
    []string{"F", "F", "F"},
}

var bools []bool
for _, s := range str {
	b, err := sliceconv.Atob(s) // conversion happens here
	if err != nil {
		// handle error
	}
	
	bools = append(bools, b)
}

ok := checkTable(bools)
// output: true

As you can see from the example, the Atob function isn't limited to the straightfoward "true" and "false" strings. In fact, Atob is not case-sensitive and can accept the following: "1", "t", "true", "0", "f", and "false".

Bools to Strings

For this example, suppose you have the response to a true or false survey for a single student. You have the answers in the form of a slice of bools. You mean to display these answers in a report using a function with the signature formatReport([]string) string. Because this function only accepts a slice of strings, you will need to use the sliceconv package to convert your slice of bools.

bools := []bool{true, false, false, true, true}

str := sliceconv.Btoa(bools)
report := formatReport(str)
// output: Q1: true, Q2: false, Q3: false, Q4: true, Q5: true

Contributions

If you would like to contribute to this project, please adhere to the following guidelines.

• Submit an issue describing the problem.
• Fork the repo and add your contribution.
• Add appropriate tests.
• Run go fmt, go vet, and golint.
• Prefer idiomatic Go over non-idiomatic code.
• Follow the basic Go conventions found here.
• If in doubt, try to match your code to the current codebase.
• Create a pull request with a description of your changes.

I'll review pull requests as they come in and merge them if everything checks out.

Any and all contributions are greatly appreciated. Thank you!