makes numbers pretty e.g.
        nums = [9001, 9.053]
        print([format_(num) for num in nums])

def format_(num, n=8):
    """
        makes numbers pretty e.g.
        nums = [9001, 9.053]
        print([format_(num) for num in nums])
    """
    if num is None:
        return 'None'
    if util_type.is_float(num):
        ret = ('%.' + str(n) + 'E') % num
        exp_pos  = ret.find('E')
        exp_part = ret[(exp_pos + 1):]
        exp_part = exp_part.replace('+', '')
        if exp_part.find('-') == 0:
            exp_part = '-' + exp_part[1:].strip('0')
        exp_part = exp_part.strip('0')
        if len(exp_part) > 0:
            exp_part = 'E' + exp_part
        flt_part = ret[:exp_pos].strip('0').strip('.')
        ret = flt_part + exp_part
        return ret
    return '%d' % num