topic Re: Converting Text String list into Numbers (Float) _ [solved] in Workato Pros Discussion Board

Converting Text String list into Numbers (Float) _ [solved]

ivan3 — Wed, 25 May 2022 00:12:36 GMT

Hello everyone! I'm sort of new to Workato and need some help!

I have to collect a list of values called Final Balance Due and then add them up to generate one final number. The problem is that the original datapill is a text string (even thoug it has only a number).

I used a Lists by Workato action to generate the list and I was able to clear its extra text by using the .pluck formula and (in the step 9) I ended up with a array/list that looks like this:

[nil, 4750.0, 11570.19, 3000.0]

When I try to use the .to_f formula I ge this error: Error calculating input for field 'value': undefined method `to_f' for #<Array:0x00007ff2cee20180>

but I can't convert this to float to be able to sum it... Any thoughts? Thank you in advance!!

Here is my recipe: https://app.workato.com/recipes/2507257?st=7c5c792d31d65370e446c338841f64b1e070962785b860598c31a32d925f8ed6

Re: Converting Text String list into Numbers (Float) _ [solved]

patrick-steil — Wed, 25 May 2022 00:25:27 GMT

When you extract the text value, do a to_f on it to convert it to a float... try that 🙂

Re: Converting Text String list into Numbers (Float) _ [solved]

ivan3 — Wed, 25 May 2022 00:50:54 GMT

Hey Patrick, I tried that actually. But I get an error saying : Error calculating input for field 'value': undefined method `to_f' for #<Array:0x00007ff2cee20180>

Re: Converting Text String list into Numbers (Float) _ [solved]

patrick-steil — Wed, 25 May 2022 01:12:29 GMT

Gotcha, if you are using .pluck(), it returns an array, so you would need to do something like:

.pluck().last.to_f

the "last" function gets the last element in the array... it should be a one element array, so "first" would also work 🙂

Re: Converting Text String list into Numbers (Float) _ [solved]

gary1 — Wed, 25 May 2022 01:27:27 GMT

Hi Ivan,

You can't use .to_f on an array because that is not a method in the array class. You can only use methods on their appropriate classes, so .to_f can only be used on integers (which are objects within your array, but not the array itself).

There are a couple of ways to sum the array. The fastest way with Ruby is to do:

[your array].compact.sum

Or, in your case:

[Items].pluck('final_balance')].compact.sum

The .compact method removes nil values from the array, which is important because nil values would cause .sum to error out. The .sum method simply sums all of the numbers left in the array -- floats and ints.

If your array is truly coming out as "[nil, 4750.0, 11570.19, 3000.0]", then this means your ints and floats are not actually strings. If they were strings, it would look like [nil, "4750.0", "11570.19", "3000.0"]. This would require some additional conversion before summing, and you'd likely have to pass the array through a loop.

If that is the case, the long way might be more applicable. You would need to accumulate the value in your loop, which could be done like this:

Create a number variable called "Total" before your loop (Step 5) and set the starting value to zero. Then, within your loop, add another "Update Variable" action to add "Total" + "Final Balance Due". This will accumulate as it iterates through each item in the loop.

You might also have to add an if conditional to prevent adding nil values, as that would result in another error. If the values were strings, this is where would you use .to_f to convert each index of the array to the floats before adding.

Hope this helps!

Re: Converting Text String list into Numbers (Float) _ [solved]

christieparker — Wed, 25 May 2022 02:04:30 GMT

Re: Converting Text String list into Numbers (Float) _ [solved]

ivan3 — Wed, 25 May 2022 02:41:49 GMT

hey Christie!

Re: Converting Text String list into Numbers (Float) _ [solved]

ivan3 — Wed, 25 May 2022 02:42:24 GMT

It worked!!!! thank you much for the detailed response. I learned a lot.

Re: Converting Text String list into Numbers (Float) _ [solved]

ivan3 — Wed, 25 May 2022 02:43:19 GMT

Thank you patrick! I actually tried it it gave me a similar error. I ened up using Gary's suggestion below for the .compact.sum formula and it worked! thanks again

Re: Converting Text String list into Numbers (Float) _ [solved]

andrew-leung — Wed, 25 May 2022 12:07:09 GMT

Hi Ivan,

To convert array elements from string to float and sum , you will need something like this:

test_array=["4.2", "6.7", "2.3"]

test_array.map(&:to_f).sum

Hope this helps

Re: Converting Text String list into Numbers (Float) _ [solved]

ashwin-ashok — Wed, 25 May 2022 14:23:14 GMT

Hi Ivan,

I'm quite new to this myself, but I'll try my best to help you out.

I can see that there is a nil present in your Array, so you will have to omit that using a compact function.

After that, you can try creating a Repeater Helper and assign the list size to it.

Then drag in a Repeater and convert each item to integer as shown in the screenshot below:

Then you can pluck the key and sum it.

I how that helps.

Kind Regards,

Ashwin A.K