How do I split string using some condition and separator

Question

I have a [String] that goes like

ABC,JKL,123,12,PQR

ABC,"XY, Z",654,54,PQR

The resulting array should look like this:

["ABC","JKL","123","12",PQR],["ABC","XY, Z","654","54","PQR"]

This is what I have tried already, but this does not work as I want in second element's case:

content.components(separatedBy: "\n").map{ $0.components(separatedBy: ",") }

That's great. What have you tried so far to accomplish this? — Martin
– Martin, Commented Sep 27, 2019 at 7:46
as of now I am using -> content.components(separatedBy: "\n").map{ $0.components(separatedBy: ",") } , but this does not work as I want in second element's case — KishanSadhwani
– KishanSadhwani, Commented Sep 27, 2019 at 7:56

ZektorH · Accepted Answer · 2019-09-27 09:48:32Z

0

Idea behind solution:

You want to split your string into an array on every occurrence of ,, accounting for data contained within " as a single item.

To do this you have to use the global split function with a regex pattern.

Code sample:

extension String
{
  func splitCommas() -> [Stirng] {
    let pattern = ",(?=(?:[^\\\"]*\\\"[^\\\"]*\\\")*[^\\\"]*\$)" //regex pattern for commas that are not within quotes
    if let regex = try? NSRegularExpression(pattern: pattern, options: []) {
      let string = self as NSString
      return regex.matches(in:inputString, range: NSMakeRange(0, inputString.utf16.count)).map {
        string.substring(with: $0.range).replacingOccurrences(of: ",", with: "") //removing all instances of commas
      }
    }
    return []
  }
}

Hope this helps! ;)

Updates

Updated code to more modern example.

Also implemented function as a String extension for usability within all of the String variables.

edited Sep 27, 2019 at 9:48

answered Sep 27, 2019 at 8:28

ZektorH

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4 Comments

Joakim Danielson Over a year ago

What version of swift is this?

KishanSadhwani Over a year ago

Tamil Nadu,Tenkasi ,"MANMATHAN,M.",M,60,SC,IND,3331,0,1382081 -> [",Tenkasi ", ",\"MANMATHAN,M.\"", ",M", ",60", ",SC", ",IND", ",3331", ",0", ",1382081"]. Nope

Joakim Danielson Over a year ago

@KishanSadhwani, can't you post proper test data in your question so we understand what kind of strings we are dealing with?

ZektorH Over a year ago

@KishanSadhwani If I understood it correctly, it seems like the first string (Tamil Nadu) is missing and the output array still has the commas in them?

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