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Split String

Zero-dependency Python snippets for splitting strings using the standard library.

4 snippets available in this sub-category.

Simple

Split string by delimiter

string split delimiter comma text

Split string by comma delimiter

text = "apple,banana,orange,grape"
fruits = text.split(",")
print(fruits)

Notes

  • Uses str.split() method
  • Returns list of substrings
  • Removes delimiter from result
  • Handles consecutive delimiters

Split string by whitespace

string split whitespace words text

Split string by whitespace (default)

text = "Hello   World   Python"
words = text.split()
print(words)

Notes

  • Default split behavior
  • Handles multiple spaces
  • Removes leading/trailing whitespace
  • Most common string splitting

Complex

Split string with max splits

string split limit max splits text

Split string with limit on number of splits

def split_string_limited(text, delimiter=None, max_splits=-1):
    """Split string with limit on number of splits."""
    if delimiter is None:
        return text.split(maxsplit=max_splits)
    else:
        return text.split(delimiter, max_splits)


text = "one:two:three:four:five"

# Split into 3 parts
result = split_string_limited(text, ":", 2)
print(result)  # ['one', 'two', 'three:four:five']

# Split by whitespace, max 2 parts
text = "Hello World Python Programming"
result = split_string_limited(text, max_splits=2)
print(result)  # ['Hello', 'World', 'Python Programming']

Notes

  • Controls number of splits
  • Useful for parsing structured data
  • Preserves remaining text
  • Flexible delimiter options

Split string with regex

string split regex pattern multiple delimiters text

Split string using regex patterns

import re


def split_string_regex(text, pattern, flags=0):
    """Split string using regex pattern."""
    return re.split(pattern, text, flags=flags)


text = "Hello,World;Python:Programming"

# Split by multiple delimiters
result = split_string_regex(text, r"[,;:]")
print(result)  # ['Hello', 'World', 'Python', 'Programming']

# Split by whitespace and punctuation
text = "Hello, World! How are you?"
result = split_string_regex(text, r"[\s,!?]+")
print(result)  # ['Hello', 'World', 'How', 'are', 'you', '']

Notes

  • Uses regex for complex patterns
  • Multiple delimiter support
  • Flexible pattern matching
  • Powerful splitting capabilities

🔗 Cross-References

🏷️ Tags

string, split, delimiter, whitespace, limit, regex, text

📝 Notes

  • str.split() is the standard way to break strings into lists
  • Regex splitting allows for complex delimiters
  • Max splits and whitespace handling are common needs
  • See related snippets for joining and replacing strings