Python string split with .split() method

Strings are a fundamental data type in Python. The ability to manipulate them effectively is a key skill for any Python programmer. One of the most useful tools for string manipulation is the split method. This tool allows you to split a string into a list of substrings based on a specified delimiter.

Introduction

Python’s .split() method is a powerful tool for manipulating strings. It allows you to split a string into a list of substrings based on a specified delimiter. This can be useful for extracting specific information from a string, modifying string formatting, and even tokenizing text for natural language processing. In this article, we will be discussing the method along with some use cases and a few tips for using this method.

Python’s .split() method

To use the .split() method, you simply need to call it on a string and pass in the delimiter as an argument. For example, the following code splits a string of words by the space character:

str_xyz = "This string will be splitted"
sub_str = str_xyz.split(" ")
print(sub_str)
Code language: Python (python)

This piece of code will return the str_xyz as a list of substrings. Refer to the following output for the same:

If you want to specify the number of splits you want to make, then refer to this example. Here, if you only want to split the string once, you can use the following syntax:

str_abc = "This string will be splitted"
sub_str = str_abc.split(" ", 1)
print(sub_str)
Code language: Python (python)

This piece of code will return the str_abc as a list of substrings. Refer to the following output for the same:

Click Here to try the above code by yourself.

Use cases for .split()

One common use case for .split() is extracting specific data from a string. For example, consider a string that contains a person’s name and email address, separated by a comma:

str_info = "Ramesh Prasad, [email protected]"
sub_str_data = str_info.split(", ")
name = sub_str_data[0]
email = sub_str_data[1]
print(name)
print(email)
Code language: Python (python)

In this example, we use the split method and break down the string in the form of a list with two substrings, with a comma as the delimiter. The resulting list is then used to assign the person’s name and email to separate variables. Refer to the following output for the same:

Another use case is modifying the formatting of a string. For example, consider a string that contains a list of items separated by newline characters:

str_item = "Item 1\nItem 2\nItem 3"
sub_item = str_item.split("\n")
new_str = ", ".join(sub_item)
print(new_str)
Code language: Python (python)

In this example, the split method is used to break down the string into a list of substrings based on the newline character. The resulting list is then joined using the .join() method, with a comma and space as the delimiter. This results in a new string with the items separated by commas and spaces. Refer to the following output:

One more use case for the split method is tokenization, which is the process of splitting a string of text into individual words or punctuation marks. This is commonly used in natural language processing to analyze the meaning and context of written or spoken language. Here is an example of using the function for tokenization:

str_new = "Hello amazing human nice to meet you."
tokens_nlp = str_new.split(" ")
print(tokens_nlp)
Code language: Python (python)

In the above example, we have used the function to break down the string into a list of substrings based on the space character. Here is the output for the same.

Click Here to try the above codes by yourself.

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Tips for using .split()

When using .split(), it is important to consider how it handles whitespace and empty strings. In Python by default, the split method considers the multiple successive whitespaces characters as a single delimiter, so if you add multiple whitespaces in a sentence, the function will treat them as single delimiter and will not create empty substrings. However, you can change this behavior by passing the ‘ ‘ argument as the delimiter, which will treat each space as a separate delimiter.

You can also use regular expressions as the delimiter to specify more complex patterns for the split method to match. This can be useful for handling variations in formatting or extracting substrings based on specific patterns. For example, the following regular expression will match any sequence of non-alphabetic characters as the delimiter:

import re

str_re = "Hola! You are reading this sentence!"
sub_str = re.split("[^a-zA-Z]", str_re)
print(sub_str)
Code language: Python (python)

This would result in the list of substrings containing the following substrings, refer to the following output.

Finally, you can combine the split method with other string methods for more advanced string manipulation. For example, you can also use it to divide a string into substrings, and then remove leading and trailing whitespace from each substring. Then modify the formatting of a string, as shown in the earlier example.

#str_space = "   This is a string which has whitespaces before and after the sentence.   "
sub_str_new = str_space.split(".")
sub_str_new = [s.strip() for s in sub_str_new]
new_str1 = ", ".join(sub_str_new)

# The resulting string should be "This is a string with leading and trailing whitespace"
print(new_str1)
Code language: Python (python)

In this example, the function is used to divide the original string into a list of substrings based on the period delimiter. We use the .strip() method to remove all the whitespaces which are present before and after each substring. After that, we use the .join() method to concatenate the substrings and create a new string with a comma and space as the delimiter. Here is the output for the same.

Click Here to try the above codes by yourself.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Python’s .split() method is a useful tool for manipulating strings. It allows you to split a string into a list of substrings based on a specified delimiter and has a range of applications including extracting data, modifying formatting, and tokenizing text. By practicing with different examples and experimenting with the different options and techniques described above, you can become proficient in using this method for your string manipulation needs.

I hope you found this article helpful. If you have any queries, you can comment on them below. We will be back with another article. Till then, keep coding, and have an amazing day ahead!