title: How to convert an empty string to integer value 0
body: <p>Good day. I am a newbie in creating a python program. My program is to write code that prints Hello if 1 is stored in spam, prints Howdy if 2 is stored in spam, and prints Greetings! if anything else is stored in spam.</p>
  
  <p>My problem is that I would like to repeat the process if the user will not input anything or an empty value. How will I convert '' to value 0. Thanks. Im sorry if my program is not that good.</p>
  
  <pre><code>while True:
      print ('Enter value of spam')
      spam = int(input())
      if spam == 1:
          print ('Hello')
          continue
      elif spam == 2:
          print ('Howdy')
          continue
      elif spam != 0:
          print ('Greeting')
          continue
  </code></pre>