re.split()

The .split() method of the re module divides a string into substrings at each occurrence of the specified character(s). This method is a good alternative to the default .split() string method for instances that require matching multiple characters.

Syntax

re.split(<pattern>, string, <maxsplit>, <flags>)

A <pattern> is a regular expression that can include any of the following:

• A string: Jane Smith
• A character class code: /w, /s , /d
• A regex symbol: $, |, ^

The other arguments include:

• An integer for the maximum number of splits (max split): 4
• Flags: IGNORECASE, VERBOSE, DOTALL

Example

The following example splits the text at each parenthesis:

import re

race_info = '''The top three race finishers were: Jane Smith (2:14), Sarah Long (2:18) and Suzy Reynolds (2:20).'''

re.split(r"\(|\)", race_info)
# A backslash indicates that the parentheses are part of the pattern