Java - Split a String by Character
Last Updated :
09 Dec, 2024
In Java, we can use the split() method from the String class to split a string by character, which simplifies this process by taking a regular expression (regex) as its argument. It returns an array of strings, allowing us to easily manipulate the parts of the original string.
Example: The split() method divides a string into substrings based on a given character or regex.
Java
// Java program to split a string using
// the split() method
public class SplitString {
public static void main(String[] args) {
String s = "Java,C,Python";
// Split the string by comma
String[] p = s.split(",");
for (String part : p) {
System.out.println(part);
}
}
}
Explanation: The above program uses split(",") to divide the string into substrings wherever a comma appears. The parts are printed one by one.
Other Methods to Split a String by Character
1. Using StringBuilder
For more control over the splitting process, we can use StringBuilder to manually build parts of the string.
Java
// Java program to split a string
// using StringBuilder
public class SplitString {
public static void main(String[] args) {
String s = "Java,C,Python";
StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
for (char ch : s.toCharArray()) {
// Split by character ','
if (ch == ',') {
System.out.println(sb.toString());
sb.setLength(0); // Reset the builder
} else {
sb.append(ch); // Append the current character
}
}
// Print the last part
System.out.println(sb.toString());
}
}
Explanation: In the above example, the StringBuilder approach offers fine-grained control over the splitting process. Each part is manually constructed and printed.
2. Using StringTokenizer (Legacy Approach)
The StringTokenizer class provides another way to split strings by a specific delimiter. This approach is considered outdated.
Java
// Java program to split a string
// using StringTokenizer
import java.util.StringTokenizer;
public class SplitString {
public static void main(String[] args) {
String s = "Java,C,Python";
// Delimiter is ','
StringTokenizer t = new StringTokenizer(s, ",");
// Print each token
while (t.hasMoreTokens()) {
System.out.println(t.nextToken());
}
}
}
Explanation: In the above example, the StringTokenizer splits the string into tokens based on the specified delimiter and provides methods like nextToken() to retrieve them.
3. Using Java Streams (Java 8+)
Java 8 introduced streams that offers a functional approach for splitting and processing strings.
Java
// Java program to split a string
// using Streams
import java.util.Arrays;
public class SplitString {
public static void main(String[] args) {
String s = "Java,C,Python";
// Use Streams to split and print the string
Arrays.stream(s.split(","))
.forEach(System.out::println);
}
}
Explanation: In the above example, the split() method creates an array, which is then converted into a stream. The forEach method processes and prints each substring.
When to Use Which Method
- split() Method: Splits a string into substrings based on a regex and returns an array.
- StringBuilder: Manually constructs parts of the string while splitting by a character.
- StringTokenizer: Legacy approach to split strings using a delimiter.
- Java Streams: Functional approach to split strings and process them in Java 8+.
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