TOPIC
    about_Split

SHORT DESCRIPTION
    Explains how to use the split operator to split one or more strings into
    substrings. 

LONG DESCRIPTION
    The split operator splits one or more strings into substrings. You can
    change the following elements of the split operation:
	
	-- Delimiter. The default is whitespace, but you can specify characters,
           strings, patterns, or script blocks that specify the delimiter.
	
	-- Maximum number of substrings. The default is to return all substrings. If 
           you specify a number less than the number of substrings, the remaining
           substrings are concatenated in the last substring. 

	-- Options that specify the conditions under which the delimiter is matched,
           such as SimpleMatch and Multiline. 


  SYNTAX

   The following diagram shows the syntax for the -split operator.

   The parameter names do not appear in the command. Include only the
   parameter values. The values must appear in the order specified in the
   syntax diagram.

	-Split <String>

	<String> -Split <Delimiter>[,<Max-substrings>[,"<Options>"]]

	<String> -Split {<ScriptBlock>} [,<Max-substrings>]

   In any split statement, you can substitute -iSplit or -cSplit for -split.
   The -iSplit and -split operators are case-insensitive. The -cSplit operator
   is case-sensitive, meaning that case is considered when the delimiter rules
   are applied.


  PARAMETERS

   <String>
        Specifies one or more strings to be split. If you submit multiple
        strings, all the strings are split using the same delimiter rules.
        Example:

	    -split "red yellow blue green"
	    red
            yellow
	    blue
	    green

   <Delimiter>
        The characters that identify the end of a substring. The default
        delimiter is whitespace, including spaces and non-printable characters, such
        as newline (`n) and tab (`t). When the strings are split, the delimiter
        is omitted from all the substrings. Example:

	    "Lastname:FirstName:Address" -split ":"
	    Lastname
	    FirstName
	    Address
	
    <Max-substrings>
        Specifies the maximum number of substrings returned. The default is
        all the substrings split by the delimiter. If there are more substrings, 
        they are concatenated to the final substring. If there are fewer 
        substrings, all the substrings are returned. A value of 0 and negative values return
        all the substrings.

        If you submit more than one string (an array of strings) to the split operator ,
        the Max-substrings limit is applied to each string separately. Example:

	    $c = "Mercury,Venus,Earth,Mars,Jupiter,Saturn,Uranus,Neptune"
	    $c -split ",", 5
	    Mercury
	    Venus
	    Earth
	    Mars
	    Jupiter,Saturn,Uranus,Neptune
	

    <ScriptBlock>
        An expression that specifies rules for applying the delimiter. The
        expression must evaluate to $true or $false. Enclose the script 
        block in braces. Example:
	
            $c = "Mercury,Venus,Earth,Mars,Jupiter,Saturn,Uranus,Neptune"
	    $c -split {$_ -eq "e" -or $_ -eq "p"}
	    M
	    rcury,V
	    nus,Earth,Mars,Ju
	    it
	    r,Saturn,Uranus,N
	
	    tun

    <Options>
        Enclose the option name in quotation marks. Options are valid only
        when the <Max-substrings> parameter is used in the statement.

        The syntax for the Options parameter is:

	    "SimpleMatch [,IgnoreCase]"

            "[RegexMatch] [,IgnoreCase] [,CultureInvariant]
            [,IgnorePatternWhitespace] [,ExplicitCapture] 
            [,Singleline | ,Multiline]"

 
        The SimpleMatch options are:
         	
          -- SimpleMatch: Use simple string comparison when evaluating the
             delimiter. Cannot be used with RegexMatch.

          -- IgnoreCase: Forces case-insensitive matching, even if the -cSplit 
             operator is specified.


        The RegexMatch options are:

          -- RegexMatch: Use regular expression matching to evaluate the
             delimiter. This is the default behavior. Cannot be used with
             SimpleMatch.

          -- IgnoreCase: Forces case-insensitive matching, even if the -cSplit 
             operator is specified.

          -- CultureInvariant: Ignores cultural differences in language
	     when evaluting the delimiter. Valid only with RegexMatch.

          -- IgnorePatternWhitespace: Ignores unescaped whitespace and
             comments marked with the number sign (#). Valid only with 
             RegexMatch.

          -- Multiline: Multiline mode recognizes the start and end of lines 
             and strings. Valid only with RegexMatch. Singleline is the default.

          -- Singleline: Singleline mode recognizes only the start and end of
             strings. Valid only with RegexMatch. Singleline is the default.

          -- ExplicitCapture: Ignores non-named match groups so that only
	     explicit capture groups are returned in the result list. Valid
             only with RegexMatch.
	

  UNARY and BINARY SPLIT OPERATORS

    The unary split operator (-split <string>) has higher precedence than a 
    comma. As a result, if you submit a comma-separated list of strings to the
    unary split operator, only the first string (before the first comma) is 
    split.

    To split more than one string, use the binary split operator 
    (<string> -split <delimiter>). Enclose all the strings in parentheses,
    or store the strings in a variable, and then submit the variable to the
    split operator.

    Consider the following example:

	-split "1 2", "a b"
	1
	2
 	a b


	"1 2", "a b" -split " "
	1
	2
 	a
	b


	-split ("1 2", "a b")
	1
	2
 	a
	b

	$a = "1 2", "a b"
	-split $a
	1
	2
 	a
	b

    
  EXAMPLES

    The following statement splits the string at whitespace.

	C:\PS> -split "Windows PowerShell 2.0`nWindows PowerShell with remoting"

	Windows
	PowerShell
	2.0
	Windows
	PowerShell
	with
	remoting


    The following statement splits the string at any comma.

	C:\PS> "Mercury,Venus,Earth,Mars,Jupiter,Saturn,Uranus,Neptune" -split ','

        Mercury
        Venus
        Earth 
        Mars
        Jupiter
        Saturn
        Uranus
        Neptune


    The following statement splits the string at the pattern "er".

	C:\PS>"Mercury,Venus,Earth,Mars,Jupiter,Saturn,Uranus,Neptune" -split 'er'

	M
	cury,Venus,Earth,Mars,Jupit
	,Saturn,Uranus,Neptune



    The following statement performs a case-sensitive split at the 
    letter "N".

	C:\PS> "Mercury,Venus,Earth,Mars,Jupiter,Saturn,Uranus,Neptune" -cSplit 'N'

	Mercury,Venus,Earth,Mars,Jupiter,Saturn,Uranus,
	eptune



    The following statement splits the string at "e" and "t".

        C:\PS> "Mercury,Venus,Earth,Mars,Jupiter,Saturn,Uranus,Neptune" -split '[et]'

        M
        rcury,V
        nus,
        ar
        h,Mars,Jupi

        r,Sa
        urn,Uranus,N
        p
        un


    The following statement splits the string at "e" and "r", but limits the
    resulting substrings to six substrings.

        C:\PS> "Mercury,Venus,Earth,Mars,Jupiter,Saturn,Uranus,Neptune" -split '[er]', 6

	M

	cu
	y,V
	nus,
	arth,Mars,Jupiter,Saturn,Uranus,Neptune



    The following statement splits a string into three substrings. 
 	
        C:\PS> "a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h" -split ",", 3

	a
	b
	c,d,e,f,g,h


    The following statement splits two strings into three substrings. 
    (The limit is applied to each string independently.)
 	
        C:\PS> "a,b,c,d", "e,f,g,h" -split ",", 3

	a
	b
	c,d
	e
	f
	g,h


    The following statement splits each line in the here-string at the
    first digit. It uses the Multiline option to recognize the beginning
    of each line and string.

    The 0 represents the "return all" value of the Max-substrings parameter. You can
    use options, such as Multiline, only when the Max-substrings value
    is specified.
    
        C:\PS> $a = @'
	1The first line.
	2The second line.
	3The third of three lines.
	'@
        
        C:\PS> $a -split "^\d", 0, "multiline"
	
	The first line.


	The second line.


	The third of three lines.



    The following statement uses the SimpleMatch option to direct the -split 
    operator to interpret the dot (.) delimiter literally. 

    With the default, RegexMatch, the dot enclosed in quotation marks (".") is 
    interpreted to match any character except for a newline character. As a 
    result, the split statement returns a blank line for every character except
    newline.

    The 0 represents the "return all" value of the Max-substrings parameter. 
    You can use options, such as SimpleMatch, only when the Max-substrings 
    value is specified.

        C:\PS> "This.is.a.test" -split ".", 0, "simplematch"

	This
        is
        a 
	test	



    The following statement splits the string at one of two delimiters, 
    depending on the value of a variable.

        C:\PS> 	$i = 1
        C:\PS> 	$c = "LastName, FirstName; Address, City, State, Zip"
        C:\PS> 	$c -split {if ($i -lt 1) {$_ -eq ","} else {$_ -eq ";"}}

	LastName, FirstName
	 Address, City, State, Zip
		
	

    The following split statements split an XML file first at the angle bracket
    and then at the semicolon. The result is a readable version of the XML
    file.

        C:\PS> 	get-process powershell | export-clixml ps.xml
        C:\PS> 	$x = import-clixml ps.xml
        C:\PS> 	$x = $x -split "<"
        C:\PS> 	$x = $x -split ";"


    To display the result, type "$x".
	
	C:\PS> $x

        @{__NounName=Process
	Name=powershell
	Handles=428
	VM=150081536
	WS=34840576
	PM=36253696
	...


SEE ALSO
    Split-Path
    about_Operators
    about_Comparison_Operators
    about_Join