In this example, we will see how we can split the string by a separator. In any programming language, working with a string datatype is normal, and there are two most essential operations regarding string which is String Concatenation and String Split.
Python split()
Python string split() is an inbuilt function that splits the string into the list. The split() method returns the list of strings after breaking the given string by a specified separator. You can specify the separator, the default separator is any whitespace.
Note: When max is specified, the list will contain the specified number of elements plus one.
Syntax
str.split(separator, limit)
Parameters
The separator parameter is the delimiter which splits the string from a specified character.
The limit parameter is the optional limit, and if provided, then it splits the string into the maximum of the provided number of times.
How to split a string in Python
In Python, we can use the split() method to split the string. In some scenarios in our project, we may need to break the large string down into smaller chunks, or strings.
It is the opposite of concatenation which merges or combines the strings into one.
What it does is split or break up the string and add the data to a string list using a defined separator.
If the separator is not specified, then white space will be considered as a separator by default. In simpler terms, the separator is the defined character that will be placed between each item.
By default, the split() function takes whitespace as the delimiter.
# app.py
name = "k r u n a l"
data = name.split()
for char in data:
print(char)
See the output.
➜ pyt python3 app.py k r u n a l ➜ pyt
Provide No Parameter in Split() Method
Let us see an example, where we do not provide any parameter in the split() method.
# app.py strA = 'Welcome! Wish 2019 Will Be A Great Year' splitedOut = strA.split() print(splitedOut)
The output is the following.
Provide A Separator in Split() Method
Now, let us take an example to provide a separator and see the output.
# app.py
strA = 'Welcome! Wish 2019 Will Be A Great Year'
splitedOut = strA.split('!')
print(splitedOut)
In the output, it has split the string from the! Separator.
How Python split() works when maxsplit is specified
See this case where we provide both the parameters.
# app.py
strA = 'Welcome! Wish 2019 Will Be A Great Year'
splitedOut = strA.split(' ', 3)
print(splitedOut)
In the above code, we have defined the space as a separator, and we will split at max three times.
When the limit parameter is specified, the list will contain the specified number of items plus one. In the above example, we have put the limit of 3. That is why we get the list of items 4.
Python Split String into a list of characters
Write a Python program to split the characters of the given string into a list.
# app.py
def splitByChar(word):
return [char for char in word]
eleven = 'MillieBobbyBrown'
print(splitByChar(eleven))
See the output.
➜ pyt python3 app.py ['M', 'i', 'l', 'l', 'i', 'e', 'B', 'o', 'b', 'b', 'y', 'B', 'r', 'o', 'w', 'n'] ➜ pyt
Python provides direct typecasting of string into a list using the list() method.
# app.py
def splitByChar(word):
return list(word)
eleven = 'MillieBobbyBrown'
print(splitByChar(eleven))
We will get the same output as above.
Python split a string into Dictionary
Let’s say, and I have a string like the following.
str = "el=Mille;mike=Finn;max=Sadie"
Now, we need to transform the above string into the dictionary.
We can accomplish the task reasonably merely with a generator comprehension.
# app.py
str = "el=Mille;mike=Finn;max=Sadie"
dictRes = dict(item.split("=") for item in str.split(";"))
print(dictRes)
Depending on the exact structure of your string format, you may need to write your simple parser. See the output.
➜ pyt python3 app.py
{'el': 'Mille', 'mike': 'Finn', 'max': 'Sadie'}
➜ pyt
Python split a string into integers
Let’s say we have the following string.
str = "11 21"
Now, we need to split the string into a list of integers.
We can use the Python map() and int() function. Then we need to convert the map object to a list using the list() method.
# app.py str = "11 21" mp = map(int, str.split()) res = list(mp) print(res)
See the output.
➜ pyt python3 app.py [11, 21] ➜ pyt
Python String Split by #(Hashtag)
See the following program.
# app.py
url = "appdividend.com#100#2017-03-27"
data = url.split("#")
for substring in data:
print(substring)
See the output.
# app.py ➜ pyt python3 app.py appdividend.com 100 2017-03-27 ➜ pyt
Finally, the Python split() function example article is over.
Thanks for this example.