Python: Converting Hexadecimal Strings to Unicode Characters
Understanding Hexadecimal Strings
Hexadecimal strings are numerical representations of Unicode characters. Each character is represented by a combination of hexadecimal digits (0-9 and A-F), allowing for a unique code point for every character in the Unicode standard.
Decoding Hexadecimal Strings in Python
There are several methods to decode hexadecimal strings in Python and convert them to Unicode characters. One common approach is to use the `bytearray.decode()` function.
Using `bytearray.decode()`
```python hex_string = "xd3" byte_array = bytearray.fromhex(hex_string) decoded_string = byte_array.decode("utf-8") print(decoded_string) # Output: Σ ``` This code first creates a `bytearray` object from the hexadecimal string using `fromhex()`, and then decodes it to a Unicode string using `decode()` with the specified encoding, in this case "utf-8".
Other Decoding Methods
Aside from `bytearray.decode()`, there are other methods for decoding hexadecimal strings in Python: * `unicodedata.lookup()` * `chr()` * Regular expression patterns (e.g., `'\u[A-Fa-f0-9]{4}'`)
Using `unicodedata.lookup()`
```python hex_string = "xd3" character = unicodedata.lookup(hex_string) print(character) # Output: Σ ``` This method takes the hexadecimal string as an argument and returns the corresponding Unicode character.
Using `chr()`
```python hex_string = "xd3" int_value = int(hex_string, 16) # Convert to integer character = chr(int_value) print(character) # Output: Σ ``` This method converts the hexadecimal string to an integer and then uses `chr()` to convert it to a character.
Converting Unicode Strings to Hexadecimal
To convert a Unicode string to a hexadecimal string, you can use the `hex()` function: ```python unicode_string = "Σ" hex_string = hex(ord(unicode_string)) print(hex_string) # Output: '0xd3' ``` This code gets the Unicode code point using `ord()`, which returns an integer, and then converts it to a hexadecimal string using `hex()`.
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