title: Locale-indepenent string to float conversion in python
body: <p>I need to convert string to float, but there can be different input string formats, such as <code>'1234,5'</code> or <code>'1234.5'</code> or <code>'1 234,5'</code> or <code>'1,234.5'</code> or whatever. And I can not change locale decimal pointer or thousands separator, because I may not know what data I will get in advance.</p>
  
  <p>Is there a way or method or library to parse and convert to float this kind of locale-specific values without knowing which locale is used?</p>
  
  <p>P.S. Is there any solution exists for the same problem with dates?</p>
  
  <p>TIA.</p>