Java 25 (LTS) reference · String Methods

Java String split() Method

Split a string around matches of a regular expression and return the parts as an array.

Java 25 (LTS) Since Java 1.0

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Syntax

string.split(regex, limit)

Parameters

Parameter	Description
`regex` String	A regular expression (escape `.` or `\|` with `\\`).
`limit` optional int	Maximum number of parts.

Return value

A String[].

Examples

Split on commas and whitespace

import java.util.*;

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        String csv = "ana,ben,cleo";
        String[] names = csv.split(",");
        System.out.println(names.length + " names, first: " + names[0]);
        System.out.println(Arrays.toString("a  b   c".split("\\s+")));
    }
}

Output

3 names, first: ana
[a, b, c]

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Escape dots; limit the parts

import java.util.*;

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        String version = "25.0.5";
        System.out.println(Arrays.toString(version.split("\\.")));   // a plain "." would match every character
        System.out.println(Arrays.toString("k=v=w".split("=", 2)));
    }
}