split
Type
command
Summary
Transforms a list into an array.
Syntax
split <variable> {by | using | with} <primaryDelimiter> [and <secondaryDelimiter>]
split <variable> {by | using | with} <primaryDelimiter> as set
split <variable> {by | using | with} {row | column}
Description
Use the split command to place a list in an array so you can easily address each part of the list.
The split command separates the parts of the variable into elements of an array. After the command is finished executing, the variable specified is an array.
If the first form of the split command is used, the parts that become elements are defined by the primaryDelimiter. For example, if the primaryDelimiter is return, each line of the variable becomes an element in the resulting array.
If you don't specify a secondaryDelimiter, then a simple numeric array is created, with each key being a number, starting with 1.
If you specify a secondaryDelimiter, the key for each element is the first portion of each part of the variable, separated from the element's content by the secondaryDelimiter. For example, if the primaryDelimiter is return and the secondaryDelimiter is space, the remainder of each line of the variable is placed in an array element whose key is the first word of the line.
If you use the as set form the split command converts the passed
variable to an array with the keys being equal to the original
list and the values being true.
For example, the following statements create an array:
put \"A apple;;B bottle;;C cradle\" into myVariable
split myVariable by \";;\" and space
resultant array looks like this:
KEY VALUE
A apple
B bottle
C cradle
Using the split command can discard data if any of the keys in the original variable are duplicated. If more than one part of the variable delimited by the primaryDelimiter has the same first portion delimited by the secondaryDelimiter, only the element corresponding to the first part is created. (For example, if you are splitting a variable by return and space, and two lines happen to have the same first word, only one of the lines is retained in the array.) Only one element is created for each unique key.
If the second form of the split command is used, the string is split into elements of an array where each element using the rowDelimiter or columnDelimiter, where each element of the resulting array is a row or column of the string respectively.
Splitting a string by row converts the string into an array where each element of the array corresponds to a row in the string separated by the rowDelimiter.
Splitting a string by column converts the string into an array where each element of the array corresponds to a column in the string separated by the columnDelimiter.
Parameters
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
variable | Any variable that is not an array | |
primaryDelimiter | A string of characters or an expression that evaluates to a string of characters. | |
secondaryDelimiter | A string of characters or an expression that evaluates to a string of characters. |
Examples
local tData
put "one,two,three" into tData
split tData by comma
# RESULT
# tData[1] = "one"
# tData[2] = "two"
# tData[3] = "three"
local tData
put "one;;two;;three" into line 1 of tData
put "ben;;fraser;;elanor" into line 2 of tData
put "apple;;orange;;grape" into line 3 of tData
set the columndel to ";;"
split tData by column
# RESULT
# tData[1] =
# one
# ben
# apple
# tData[2] =
# two
# fraser
# orange
# tData[3] =
# three
# elanor
# grape
Related
keyword: left-square-bracketright-square-bracket, using
property: columnDelimiter, rowDelimiter
command: combine, intersect, union
Compatibility and Support
Introduced
LiveCode 1.1
OS
mac
windows
linux
ios
android
web
Platforms
desktop
server
mobile