Converting String Representations of Lists to Lists

When working with strings that resemble lists, it becomes necessary to transform them into actual list objects for further processing. This article provides a comprehensive solution, addressing the following question:

How to convert a string representation of a list into a list object?

Solution:

To achieve this conversion, the ast.literal_eval() function plays a crucial role. Here's how it works:

fruits = "['apple', 'orange', 'banana']"
import ast
fruits = ast.literal_eval(fruits)

By utilizing ast.literal_eval(), we can safely convert the string representation of the list, ensuring that the resulting object is indeed a list. This conversion allows us to access and manipulate the list items as expected:

fruits[1]  # Output: 'orange'

Safety Considerations:

It's important to note that ast.literal_eval() should be used with caution, especially when dealing with untrusted sources. The ast.literal_eval() documentation emphasizes that it only supports specific Python literal structures, and any additional content could potentially compromise the safety of the evaluation.