[PD] symbol to float

[hans w. koch]

hello,

pd-vanilla question:
trying to harness geodata from an xml file, i need to parse lines like this: <gx:coord>8.689756393432365 49.4138 109.18</gx:coord>
with a combination of "list split“ and „list fromsymbol“ i end up with three message boxes, „8.689756393432365“, „49.4138“ and „109.18“.
problem is, that the message box containing „8.689756393432365“ is a symbol and i can´t seem to find a way to reconvert it to a float, other then sending it thru a netsend/netreceive pair.
(as per this tip from 2007: https://lists.puredata.info/pipermail/pd-list/2007-02/047499.html).

its working fine, but i was wondering, if this really is the only vanilla solution?

i might well be staring at the obvious and not seeing it...
thanks in advance for any other pointers!

best hans

www.hans-w-koch.net