how to make a variable change from the text "1m" into "1000000" in python

Question

I have variables with values like 1.7m 1.8k and 1.2b how can I convert them to a real number value for example

1.7m = 1700000
1.8k = 1800
1.2b = 1200000000

Answer 1

I would define a dictionary:

tens = dict(k=10e3, m=10e6, b=10e9)

then

x='1.7m'
factor, exp = x[0:-1], x[-1].lower()
ans = int(float(factor) * tens[exp])

Answer 2

You might be interested in a units library like quantities or unum.