I want to split a mathematical function by the sign of the variables in it like this :
input--> x-5y+3z=10
output--> [x,-5y,+3z,=10]
this code does not work in the way i want :
String function = "x-5y+3z=10";
String split = function.split("=|-|\\+");
the output of the array is :
[x,5y,3z,10]
so what is the correct regex for this ?
The "problem" using split is that the delimiter used will be removed, because it'll takt the parts that are between this delimiter, you need a pattern that is non-capturing or with a simple lookahead : match something wich is before something else
The pattern (?=[-+=]) would work, it'll take the part that starts with a -+= symbol without removing it :
String function = "x-5y+3z=10";
String[] split = function.split("(?=[-+=])");
System.out.println(Arrays.toString(split)); //[x, -5y, +3z, =10]