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Splitting Strings While Preserving Separators in Python
In Python, the re.split() function effectively separates a string based on a specified pattern. However, its default behavior excludes the separators from the resulting list of tokens. To preserve the separators, a simple technique involves leveraging the power of capturing groups.
The official documentation for re.split() states that "if capturing parentheses are used in the pattern, then the text of all groups in the pattern are also returned as part of the resulting list." This insight paves the way for our solution.
To preserve the separators, simply enclose them within a capturing group. For instance, to split the string "foo/bar spamneggs" while preserving the separators, use the following syntax:
re.split('(\W)', 'foo/bar spam\neggs')
The output will be:
['foo', '/', 'bar', ' ', 'spam', '\n', 'eggs']
This approach ensures that the original string is split into desired tokens while maintaining the original character sequence, including the desired separators.
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