To convert an integer to a float in Python you can use the following:

float_version = float(int_version)

The reason you are getting 0 is that Python 2 returns an integer if the mathematical operation (here a division) is between two integers. So while the division of 144 by 314 is 0.45~~~, Python converts this to integer and returns just the 0 by eliminating all numbers after the decimal point.

Alternatively you can convert one of the numbers in any operation to a float since an operation between a float and an integer would return a float. In your case you could write float(144)/314 or 144/float(314). Another, less generic code, is to say 144.0/314. Here 144.0 is a float so it’s the same thing.

Integer division truncates, so (50/100) results in 0. You can cast to float (better double) or multiply with 100.0 (for double precision, 100.0f for float precision) first,

double percentage;
// ...
percentage = 100.0*number/total;
// percentage = (double)number/total * 100;

or

float percentage;
// ...
percentage = (float)number/total * 100;
// percentage = 100.0f*number/total;

Since floating point arithmetic is not associative, the results of 100.0*number/total and (double)number/total * 100 may be slightly different (the same holds for float), but it's extremely unlikely to influence the first two places after the decimal point, so it probably doesn't matter which way you choose.

my_var = (int)my_var;

As simple as that. Basically you don't need it if the variable is int.