How Can I Efficiently Convert String Representations of Lists to Clean Lists in Python?

Converting String Representations of Lists to Lists

Converting a string representation of a list into a list can be a cumbersome task, especially when dealing with spaces and inconsistencies in formatting. To address this challenge, consider utilizing the Python module, ast.

The ast module provides the literal_eval() function, which allows for the evaluation of string representations of Python literals, including lists. Let's demonstrate its use with an example:

>>> import ast
>>> x = '[ "A","B","C" , " D"]'  # String representation with spaces
>>> x = ast.literal_eval(x)
>>> x
['A', 'B', 'C', ' D']

However, the resulting list still contains whitespace in the last element. To remove it, we can apply additional processing to the list:

>>> x = [n.strip() for n in x]
>>> x
['A', 'B', 'C', 'D']

By combining literal_eval() with string manipulation, we can efficiently convert string representations of lists into clean lists, regardless of the presence of spaces or formatting inconsistencies.

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