Map over list and split each string in Python

Map over list and split each string in Python #

To map over a list and split each string:

1. Use a list comprehension to iterate over the list.
2. On each iteration, call the split() method on the list item.
3. The result will be a two-dimensional list.

Copied!
my_list = ['a_1', 'b_2', 'c_3']

new_list = [item.split('_') for item in my_list]

print(new_list)  # 👉️ [['a', '1'], ['b', '2'], ['c', '3']]

my_flat_list = [x for xs in new_list for x in xs]
print(my_flat_list)  # 👉️ ['a', '1', 'b', '2', 'c', '3']

On each iteration, we call the split() method on the element.

You can optionally flatten the two-dimensional list if you need to.

The str.split() method splits the original string into a list of substrings using a delimiter.

The method takes the following 2 parameters:

If the separator is not found in the string, a list containing only 1 element is returned.

Alternatively, you can use the map() function.

Copied!
my_list = ['a_1', 'b_2', 'c_3']

new_list = list(
    map(lambda item: item.split('_'), my_list)
)

print(new_list)  # 👉️ [['a', '1'], ['b', '2'], ['c', '3']]

my_flat_list = [x for xs in new_list for x in xs]
print(my_flat_list)  # 👉️ ['a', '1', 'b', '2', 'c', '3']

The map() function takes a function and an iterable as arguments and calls the function with each item of the iterable.

However, this is a bit harder to read than using a list comprehension.