Convert string to calculable operation

Question

Is it possible to convert string to a calculable operation

I want to make this done:

>>> import math
>>> operation = "10/2*6 + math.sqrt(42)"
>>> compute(operation)
36.48074069840786

Sure, that's what the builtin `eval` does ... But doing this can lead to security issues. — mgilson, Oct 17 '12 at 16:52
Don't [`eval`](http://docs.python.org/library/functions.html?highlight=eval#eval) it. — , Oct 17 '12 at 16:52
possible duplicate of [Evaluating a mathematical expression in a string](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2371436/evaluating-a-mathematical-expression-in-a-string) — Ashwini Chaudhary, Oct 17 '12 at 17:01
@InbarRose `literal_eval()` doesn't works for mathematical expressions. — Ashwini Chaudhary, Oct 17 '12 at 17:06

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 17 '12 at 16:52

2

eval will do that for you.

>>> import math
>>> operation = "10/2*6 + math.sqrt(42)"
>>> eval(operation)
36.48074069840786

answered Oct 17 '12 at 16:52

Keith Randall

5

`eval(operation.replace('__',''),{'__builtins__':None,'math':math})` may be a bit safer ... – mgilson Oct 17 '12 at 16:54

1 Answers1