Split a string into a Python list

This post will discuss how to split a delimited and non-delimited string into a list in Python.

Related Post:

Convert a string to a list of characters in Python

1. Using `list()` constructor

The list() constructor builds a list directly from an iterable, and since the string is iterable, you can construct a list from it by passing the string to the list constructor:

if __name__ == '__main__':

input = 'ABC'

chars = list(input)

print(chars) # ['A', 'B', 'C']

Download Run Code

2. Using `str.split()` function

You can use the str.split(sep=None) function, which returns a list of the words in the string, using sep as the delimiter string.

For example, to split the string with delimiter -, you can do:

if __name__ == '__main__':

s = '1-2-3'

l = s.split('-')

print(l) # prints ['1', '2', '3']

Download Run Code

If sep is not specified or is None, consecutive whitespace runs are regarded as a single separator.

if __name__ == '__main__':

s = '1 2 3'

l = s.split()

print(l) # prints ['1', '2', '3']

Download Run Code

3. Using `shlex.split()` function

The shlex module defines the shlex.split(s) function, which split the string s using shell-like syntax.

import shlex

if __name__ == '__main__':

s = '1 2 3'

l = shlex.split(s)

print(l) # prints ['1', '2', '3']

Download Run Code

That’s all about splitting a string into a list in Python.

Split a string into a Python list

1. Using list() constructor

2. Using str.split() function

3. Using shlex.split() function

Share this:

1. Using `list()` constructor

2. Using `str.split()` function

3. Using `shlex.split()` function