Using the split and join functions

Using the split and join functions

• Finally, regular expressions can be used to split a string into separate fields. To do so, we use the "split" function with the format:

  @split_array = split
  (/[pattern_to_split_on]/, [string_to_split]); 
  

• For example, CGI applications often use the split function to read the fields of database rows. Consider the following code snippet:

  $database_row = "Selena Sol|213-456-7890|27"; 
  @database_fields = split (/\|/, $database_row); 
  

• Now @database_fields will include the elements "Selena Sol", "213-456-7890" and "27". Each of these fields can then be processed separately if need be.

• The reverse operation is performed with the "join" function that uses the following format:

  $joined_string = join
  ("[pattern_to_join_on]", [list_to_join]); 
  

• Thus, we might recreate the original database row using

  $new_database_row = join ("\|", @database_fields); 
  

Additional Resources:

• Perl
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The =~ operator
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