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To: python-list@python.org
From: Terry Reedy <tjreedy@udel.edu>
Subject: Re: How best to convert a string "list" to a python list
Date: Sat, 14 May 2011 15:59:33 -0400
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On 5/14/2011 4:41 AM, Nobody wrote:
> On Fri, 13 May 2011 10:15:29 -0700, noydb wrote:
>
>> I want some code to take the items in a semi-colon-delimted string "list"
>> and places each in a python list.  I came up with below.  In the name of
>> learning how to do things properly, do you experts have a better way of
>> doing it?
>
>> x = "red;blue;green;yellow" ## string of semi-colon delimited colors
>
> Provided that a semicolon is *always* a delimiter, just use the .split()
> method:
>
> 	color_list = x.split(";")
>
> For more complex formats, where there are quote and/or escape characters
> which allow the delimiter to occur as part of an item, you typically need
> to use a regular expression to match everything up to the next delimiter,
> and do this in a loop to extract the individual items.

Or, for some formats, use the cvs module.


-- 
Terry Jan Reedy