Splitting a string

Break a string on a separator or regex, with a limit, :skip-empty, or into chunks.

.split breaks a string into a list on a separator, which can be a string or a regex, with an optional limit and the :skip-empty adverb. .comb is the complement — it keeps the pieces rather than the gaps.

Split on a string or regex #

say "a-b-c".split("-");
say "a1b2c".split(/\d/);

(a b c)
(a b c)

Limit the number of pieces #

A second argument caps the number of fields; the last one keeps the remainder.

say "a-b-c".split("-", 2);

(a b-c)

Drop empties with :skip-empty #

:skip-empty removes empty fields — such as the trailing empty left after a final separator.

say "a1b2c3".split(/\d/, :skip-empty);

(a b c)

comb into fixed-size chunks #

.comb(n) returns n-character chunks (the complement of splitting).

say "hello".comb(2);

(he ll o)

Notes #

• .words splits on whitespace (dropping empty edges) and matches Rakudo — the right tool when the separator is "any run of spaces".
• .lines splits on line boundaries; .comb with no argument returns single characters (which matches Rakudo).
• A regex separator lets you split on patterns: .split(/\s* ',' \s*/) trims around commas.