---
title: "LeetCode #171: Excel Sheet Column Number"
url: https://perrotta.dev/2025/12/leetcode-%23171-excel-sheet-column-number/
last_updated: 2026-02-16
---


[LeetCode #171: Excel Sheet Column Number](https://leetcode.com/problems/excel-sheet-column-number):

```python
class Solution:
    def titleToNumber(self, columnTitle: str) -> int:
        ans = 0
        base = 26

        while columnTitle:
            d = columnTitle[0]
            columnTitle = columnTitle[1:]

            ans = ans * base + ((ord(d) - ord('A')) + 1)

        return ans
```

`'B' — 'A'` works in C (`char`), but Python requires the explicit `ord()` cast
as you cannot "subtract" strings.