Split a string and keep matched splitter in list in Groovy

Question

Hey, I have a python background and I'm having a couple of issues with the split function in groovy (but I guess java...). Specifically, I want to retain my split character since I do not know at the time of splitting what it is. So for example, suppose I have the following string:

"(if (= 2 (- 3 1)) 4 (- 3 1))"

I want to split it into:

['', '(', 'if ', '(', '= 2 ', '(', '- 3 1', ')', '', ')', ' 4 ', '(', '- 3 1', ')', '', ')', '']

(note: I'm not trying to write a lisp/scheme parser, this is just an easy example of nested parentheses.)

Is there an easy way to do this in Groovy?

score 1 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 12:07

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Regarding the fundamental JDK, this question (and answers) implies that it can be done, but not easily (though this is subjective).

That leaves the Groovy JDK. According to the Groovy JDK doc, particularly the additional methods on String, I don't see anything that gives you what you're asking.

edited May 23 '17 at 12:07

Community

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answered Jan 07 '11 at 03:29

Michael Easter

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Thanks, @polygenelubricants's crazy, crazy answer does what I needed. Thanks! – Mike Axiak Jan 07 '11 at 03:49

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Jan 07 '11 at 21:55

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I don't think you really mean splitting the string. From your example it looks more like you are trying to parse it so what you need is a tokenizer. There are plenty solutions available. Information on lexical analysis might be a good point to start.

answered Jan 07 '11 at 21:55

mfloryan

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Thanks, but I really don't want to take in a huge project just to look at ( and ). – Mike Axiak Jan 08 '11 at 01:39
I understand however it doesn't need to be huge and an interesting part of CS. – mfloryan Jan 09 '11 at 21:29

Split a string and keep matched splitter in list in Groovy

2 Answers2