Split a string using a delimiter in Kotlin

This article explores different ways to split a string into an array using a given delimiter in Kotlin.

1. Using String’s `split()` function

The standard solution to split a string in Kotlin is with the native split() function, which takes one or more delimiters as an argument and splits the string around occurrences of the specified delimiters.

fun main() {

val str = "A:B:C"

val delim = ":"

val list = str.split(delim)

println(list) // [A, B, C]

}

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The split() function returns a list of strings. If you want to convert the list into an array, call the toTypedArray() function.

fun main() {

val str = "A:B:C"

val delim = ":"

val arr = str.split(delim).toTypedArray()

println(arr.contentToString()) // [A, B, C]

}

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2. Using Pattern’s `split()` function

You can also use Pattern’s split() function, which returns an array of strings computed by splitting the input around matches of the given pattern.

import java.util.regex.Pattern

fun main() {

val str = "A:B:C"

val delim = ":"

val arr = Pattern.compile(delim).split(str)

println(arr.contentToString()) // [A, B, C]

}

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If your delimiter happens to be the same as special characters in regex like a dot(.), pipe(|) or dollar($), you need to escape them first.

import java.util.regex.Pattern

fun main() {

val str = "A.B.C"

val delim = "\\."

val arr = Pattern.compile(delim).split(str)

println(arr.contentToString()) // [A, B, C]

}

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That’s all about splitting a string using a delimiter in Kotlin.

Split a string using a delimiter in Kotlin

1. Using String’s split() function

2. Using Pattern’s split() function

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1. Using String’s `split()` function

2. Using Pattern’s `split()` function