Question

I have found some strange syntax in python:

int(array[0], 32)

array[0] is some string, but what exactly is the second parameter for? And can somebody please explain this int() syntax, is it function or casting?

Answer 1

Help on class int in module __builtin__:

class int(object)
 |  int(x[, base]) -> integer
 |
 |  Convert a string or number to an integer, if possible.  A floating point
 |  argument will be truncated towards zero (this does not include a string
 |  representation of a floating point number!)  When converting a string, use
 |  the optional base.  It is an error to supply a base when converting a
 |  non-string.  If base is zero, the proper base is guessed based on the
 |  string content.  If the argument is outside the integer range a
 |  long object will be returned instead.

So it is a base32 string you are parsing, with digits ranging from 0..9 and a..v.