Python String split()

The syntax of split() is:

str.split([separator [, maxsplit]])

split() Parameters

split() method takes a maximum of 2 parameters:

• separator (optional)- It is a delimiter. The string splits at the specified separator.
  If the separator is not specified, any whitespace (space, newline etc.) string is a separator.
• maxsplit (optional) - The maxsplit defines the maximum number of splits.
  The default value of maxsplit is -1, meaning, no limit on the number of splits.

Return Value from split()

split() breaks the string at the separator and returns a list of strings.

Example 1: How split() works in Python?

text= 'Love thy neighbor'

# splits at space
print(text.split())

grocery = 'Milk, Chicken, Bread'

# splits at ','
print(grocery.split(', '))

# Splitting at ':'
print(grocery.split(':'))

Output

['Love', 'thy', 'neighbor']
['Milk', 'Chicken', 'Bread']
['Milk, Chicken, Bread']

Example 2: How split() works when maxsplit is specified?

grocery = 'Milk, Chicken, Bread, Butter'

# maxsplit: 2
print(grocery.split(', ', 2))

# maxsplit: 1
print(grocery.split(', ', 1))

# maxsplit: 5
print(grocery.split(', ', 5))

# maxsplit: 0
print(grocery.split(', ', 0))

Output

['Milk', 'Chicken', 'Bread, Butter']
['Milk', 'Chicken, Bread, Butter']
['Milk', 'Chicken', 'Bread', 'Butter']
['Milk, Chicken, Bread, Butter']

If maxsplit is specified, the list will have the maximum of maxsplit+1 items.