TypeScript Converting a String to a number

Anyone a suggestion on how to convert a string to a number in TypeScript?

var aNumber : number = "1"; // --> Error

// Could this be done?

var defaultValue = 0;
var aNumber : number = "1".toInt32(defaultValue);

// Or ..
var defaultValue = 0;
var aNumber : number = StringToInt("1", defaultValue);

Update:
I did some extra puzzling, the best sofar I've come up with:

var aNumber : number = ( "1") * 1;

checking if a string is numeric is answered here: In Typescript, How to check if a string is Numeric.

Answer

You can use the parseInt or parseFloat functions, or simply use the unary + operator:

var x = "32";
var y = +x; // y: number