Python - Split Strings into parameters

Question

I am new to Python and I have a string split problem which I need help

input = "\"filename.txt\", 1234,8973,\"Some Description \""

input contains both strings & numbers, and there might be cases where leading and tailing spaces exist

expected output should be

['filename.txt', '1234', '8973', 'Some Description']

Can split do the job or i need regular expressions?

Could there be a comma in a `\"string\"` between two commas? — wenzul, Jul 27 '15 at 08:35
Why dont you first try `split` and see if it works instead of asking? Takes 10 seconds to try it. — Imanol Luengo, Jul 27 '15 at 08:37

Martijn Pieters · Answer 1 · 2015-07-27T08:39:49.977

Use the csv module to handle input like that; it handles quoting, can be taught about leading whitespace, and trailing whitespace can be removed afterwards:

import csv

reader = csv.reader(inputstring.splitlines(), skipinitialspace=True)
row = next(reader)  # get just the first row
res = [c.strip() for c in row]

Demo:

>>> import csv
>>> inputstring = '"filename.txt", 1234,8973,"Some Description "'
>>> reader = csv.reader(inputstring.splitlines(), skipinitialspace=True)
>>> row = next(reader)
>>> [c.strip() for c in row]
['filename.txt', '1234', '8973', 'Some Description']

This has the added advantage that you can have commas in the values, provided they are quoted:

>>> with_commas = '"Hello, world!", "One for the money, two for the show"'
>>> reader = csv.reader(with_commas.splitlines(), skipinitialspace=True)
>>> [c.strip() for c in next(reader)]
['Hello, world!', 'One for the money, two for the show']

The csv.reader() object takes an iterable as the first argument; I used the str.splitlines() method to turn a (potentially multiline) string into a list; you could also just use [inputstring] if your input string is always just one line.

Another 40 lashes for input ;) – Padraic Cunningham Jul 27 '15 at 08:39 — Padraic Cunningham, Jul 27 '15 at 08:39
@PadraicCunningham: tell that to the OP! :-) – Martijn Pieters Jul 27 '15 at 08:40 — Martijn Pieters, Jul 27 '15 at 08:40

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 27 '15 at 08:36

2

>>> [s.strip(' "') for s in input.split(',')]
['filename.txt', '1234', '8973', 'Some Description']

If it's guaranteed that no commas appear within your quoted parts, this will do.

answered Jul 27 '15 at 08:36

deceze

510,633
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score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Jul 27 '15 at 08:37

You can use Python map and lambda for this..

In [9]: input = "\"filename.txt\", 1234,8973,\"Some Description \""
In [11]: input = map(lambda x: x.strip(), input.split(','))
In [14]: input = map(lambda x: x.strip('"'), input)
In [16]: input = map(lambda x: x.strip(), input)
In [17]: input
Out[17]: ['filename.txt', '1234', '8973', 'Some Description']

score 0 · Answer 4 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:25

0

You could do like

li=input.split(",")

this will fetch you

li=['"filename.txt"', ' 1234', '8973', '"Some Description "']

then use ltrim and rtrim accordingly see How to trim whitespace (including tabs)? for more details

edited May 23 '17 at 12:25

Community

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answered Jul 27 '15 at 08:38

therealprashant

701
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score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Jul 27 '15 at 08:39

0

Use the re module.

Try the following code:

import re
filter(lambda x: x != '', re.split(",| |\"", input))

The output will be:

['filename.txt', '1234', '8973', 'Some', 'Description']

answered Jul 27 '15 at 08:39

abcdef

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if there are "spaces" in filename and description, this code will not work properly – Dennis Jul 27 '15 at 15:19

score 0 · Answer 6 · answered Jul 27 '15 at 08:39

0

map(str.strip, input.replace('"','').split(','))

answered Jul 27 '15 at 08:39

aadarshsg

2,069
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score 0 · Answer 7 · answered Jul 27 '15 at 09:22

0

you can just using eval() function

input = "\"filename.txt\", 1234,8973,\"Some Description \""
>>> list(eval(input))
['filename.txt', 1234, 8973, 'Some Description ']

answered Jul 27 '15 at 09:22

张文辉

1

Python - Split Strings into parameters

7 Answers7