JavaScript split string - String into substrings

In this tutorial, we look at how to use JavaScript to split strings. We break down the syntax, parameters to facilitate further understanding.
JavaScript Split string

Table of Contents


JavaScript split string:

The JavaScript split() string method is used to split a string into an array of substrings. Once split it returns an array containing a substring. However, the split() method does not change the original string.

In order to specify where the string needs to be split, a separator is used. Javascript splits the string on each occurrence of the separator. This way a string can be easily split into substrings.

Code and Explanation:

The code to split a string in is fairly straightforward, let's take a look:

Syntax:

string.split(separator, limit)
Here “string” refers to the string you are looking to split. The other terms are parameters we take a look at below.

Parameters:

  1. Separator - Optional. A specific character, regular expression used to split a string. If not passed, the entire string would be returned.
  2. Limit - Optional. An integer that specifies the number of splits. Subsequent occurrences of the separator are not included.

Return Value:

It returns an array containing the substrings. If a separator is not passed, the array will contain one element containing the entire string.


JavaScript split string code:

let Flexiple = 'Hire top freelance developers'
let week = 'Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday,Saturday,Sunday'

let flexiplelist = Flexiple.split(" ")
let weeklist = week.split(",")
let flexiplelist2 = Flexiple.split()
let weeklist2 = week.split(",",3)

console.log(weeklist)
console.log(flexiplelist)
console.log(flexiplelist2)
console.log(weeklist2)
As you can see we have defined two strings, the first one is separated by a space and the next string is separated by a comma.

The output for the above code is:
> Array ["Monday", "Tuesday", "Wednesday", "Thursday", "Friday", "Saturday", "Sunday"]
> Array ["Hire", "top", "freelance", "developers"]
> Array ["Hire top freelance developers"]
> Array ["Monday", "Tuesday", "Wednesday"]
For the first two arrays, we have used their respective separators.

For the third array, we have not passed a separator and hence the array contains one element containing the entire string.

And for the final array, we have passed a limit and hence only 3 substrings are returned.

Closing thoughts - JavaScript split string

This method is useful when trying to split a string based on a pattern. However, in case you wish to split it based on an index you can use the slice methods.

You could refer to this in-depth tutorial - JavaScript Slice