The Little-Known JavaScript Trick to Quickly Convert Strings to Numbers

In JavaScript, there are several ways to convert a string to a number. However, there’s one little-known trick that can help you do it quickly and efficiently: using the “+” operator.

Here’s an example:

const myString = "42";
const myNumber = +myString;
console.log(myNumber); // Output: 42

In this example, we’re using the “+” operator to convert the string “42” to a number. This works because JavaScript automatically coerces the string to a number when it’s used in a mathematical operation like addition.

But what if the string contains non-numeric characters? In that case, the “+” operator won’t work. However, we can use another little-known trick to handle this situation: the “parseInt()” function.

Here’s an example:

const myString = "42 is the answer";
const myNumber = parseInt(myString);
console.log(myNumber); // Output: 42

In this example, we’re using the “parseInt()” function to convert the string “42 is the answer” to a number. The function starts at the beginning of the string and parses out the numeric characters until it encounters a non-numeric character. In this case, it stops at the space after “42” and returns the numeric value.

So, next time you need to convert a string to a number in JavaScript, remember these little-known tricks: use the “+” operator for simple cases, and the “parseInt()” function for more complex cases.