Splitting a string in Python

Python is a powerful programming language that offers a wide range of functionalities for various applications. One of the most common operations in Python programming is splitting a string. Splitting a string enables one to break a string into smaller parts based on a specific delimiter or criteria. Python provides a straightforward and efficient method for performing string splitting tasks. In this tutorial, we will be exploring how to split a string in Python and the different approaches and string functions that can be used to achieve this. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced Python developer, this tutorial will provide you with insights on how to split strings in Python effectively.

Different methods of splitting a string in Python :

• In python we can split a string using different methods, these include :
  • Using Iteration
  • Using regular expressions
  • Using split method
  • Using Itertools
  • Using the list() method 

Splitting a string using Iteration:

• To split a string into words using iteration :
  • We can use a for loop to iterate through each character of the string.
  • Append each character to a new sub-string until the delimiter is found.
  • Add the sub-string to a list, and start a new sub-string for the next delimiter.
• Code Sample :

my_string = "Kolledge, Scholars"
delimiter = ", "
substrings = []
current_substring = ""
for character in my_string:
    if character == delimiter:
        substrings.append(current_substring)
        current_substring = ""
    else:
        current_substring += character
substrings.append(current_substring)
print(substrings)        
   

# Output   
# ['Kolledge, Scholars']


   
   

Splitting a string using regular expressions :

• We can use the  re.split()  method, which uses regular expressions to split a string based on a pattern.
• We need to import the  re  module to use the  re.split()  method.
• Code Sample :

import re

my_string = "Kolledge, Scholars"
delimiter = ", "
substrings = re.split(delimiter, my_string)
print(substrings)          
   
# Output
# ['Kolledge', 'Scholars'] 
 


 

Splitting a string using split method :

• We can use the  split()  method to split a string based on a separator.
• Code Sample :

my_string = "Kolledge, Scholars"
delimiter = ", "
substrings = my_string.split(delimiter)
print(substrings)          

# Output  
# ['Kolledge', 'Scholars']



   

Splitting a string Using Itertools:

• We can use the  itertools.groupby()  method to group adjacent characters based on a condition.
• The  groupby()  method takes a parameter  key .
  • We can pass a lambda function to this parameter.
  • This lambda function returns False when the delimiter is encountered or the end of the string is reached.
• We need to import the  itertools   module to use this method.
• Code Sample :

import itertools
my_string = "Kolledge, Scholars"
delimiter = ", "
substrings = [''.join(group) for is_delimiter, group in itertools.groupby(my_string, key=lambda x: x != delimiter) if is_delimiter]
print(substrings)          
   
# Output  
# ['Kolledge', 'Scholars']   
   
 

Splitting a string Into a List of Characters:

• We can use the  list()  method to convert a string into a list of characters.
• Code Sample :

my_string = "Kolledge"
character_list = list(my_string)
print(character_list)     
   
   
# Output  
# ['K', 'o', 'l', 'l', 'e', 'd', 'g', 'e']
 
 

Removing White-space with split():

• We can use the  split()  method without any arguments to split a string by white-space characters.
• Code Sample :

my_string = "   Kolledge,     Scholars    "
substrings = my_string.split()
print(substrings)          

# Output  
# ['Kolledge,', 'Scholars']