[Tutor] How convert an int to a string

[Jim Byrnes]

On 06/22/2013 05:10 PM, David Rock wrote:
> * Jim Byrnes <jf_byrnes at comcast.net> [2013-06-22 16:01]:
>> I need to convert a series of digits like 060713 to a string so I can
>> make it look like a date 06-07-13.
>>
>>   >>> a = 060713
>>   >>> a[:2]
>> Traceback (most recent call last):
>>     File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
>> TypeError: 'int' object has no attribute '__getitem__'
>>   >>> b = str(a)
>>   >>> b[:2]
>> '25'
>>   >>> b
>> '25035'
>>   >>>
>>
>> I was confused at first but then realized that the  0  makes it octal. I
>> thought str() would do it but it didn't. Reading about str() it talks of
>> string representation.  So how can I convert it to a true string I can
>> slice and build my date look a like?
>
> Is there a requirement to store them as numbers in the first place?  Why
> not just store them as a string?
>
> a = '060713'
>

Yes. I am scripting data entry in a spreadsheet.  I can enter the 6 
numbers quite rapidly using the number pad but entering the " - "'s to 
make it look like a date slows me down.  So I thought I would let python 
do that for me.

Regards,  Jim