Powershell Split wtih multi-character delimiter

PowerShell Help
1

I am trying to split a string using “.^.” as the delimiter. I have been unable to get it to behave the way I expect it to. For clarification, each segment is separated by “.^.” I don’t want it to split on each character separately. Right now, I’m using something like this.

$str=“yellow.^…^.C.^.5/10/2023 ReissuedSA. CSM approval 3/13/2020 ticket836822. user must run the Authorization Manager application that generates a unique reference code based on the hardware of the machine on which the software has been installed. .^…^.CSM approval 3/13/2020 ticket836822.^.”
$arr=$str.split(“.^.”)

I have tried using $str -split “.^.”, as some posts suggest, but returns a single string without splitting it at all.
I have also read that this may be expecting a RegEx, but I was unable to get that to work either.
If I split with just the caret, it gets closer to the results I’m expecting, but it leaved the periods around each field.

I am working with an existing database also. So I can’t use a different delimiter.

Any help is much appreciated.

2

Works fine for me other than the fact that the “…” keep getting encoded as a single character. Had to replace those with actual “…”

3

I’m getting over 20 elements in the array. It’s splitting on the periods in the text fields.

4

Try

$arr = $str  -split "\.\^\."

And BTW: Because you formatted your code as quote and not as code the code got messed up - especially your input string. :point_up:t3: :point_up:t3: :point_up:t3:

When you post code, sample data, console output or error messages please format it as code using the preformatted text button ( </> ). Simply place your cursor on an empty line, click the button and paste your code.

Thanks in advance

How to format code in PowerShell.org 1 <---- Click :point_up_2:t4: :wink:

( !! Sometimes the preformatted text button hides behind the settings gear symbol. :wink: )

… just to show the difference:

$str = "yellow.^..^.C.^.5/10/2023 ReissuedSA. CSM approval 3/13/2020 ticket836822. user must run the Authorization Manager application that generates a unique reference code based on the hardware of the machine on which the software has been installed.  .^..^.CSM approval 3/13/2020 ticket836822.^."
$arr = $str  -split "\.\^\."
$arr.count

The output is “7” :smirk:

5

Thanks. That worked. I tried it with the backslashes before and it didn’t work. I think I used that with the .split method.

6

Actually

$str.Split('.^.')

works for me as well. The result is the same. :man_shrugging:t3:

7

One thing I’ll point out using the split method is something that changed between PS5 and 7.

At one point in time I was going to blog but I guess I keep forgetting to do it, but ironically enough, I wrote a blog on this: Using .NET 5 split Method to split strings in PowerShell 7.1+ (dotnvo.github.io)

If you run your same command in PS5, it won’t return 7 objects, it’ll return 22.

TLDR: That’s because in PS5, it splits it on each character by default in PowerShell. .NET 4 the string class only had methods that took characters as parameter types IIRC. So PowerShell does its magic on the backend. .NET 5 changed the game a bit, and so PS7 also now behaves differently, specifically you can give it a string to split on. To illustrate it a bit easier:

PS7:

'S.t^r.i.n^g'.Split('.^.')

OUTPUT:

S.t^r.i.n^g

PS5:

'S.t^r.i.n^g'.Split('.^.')

OUTPUT

S
t
r
i
n
g

So PS7, it takes that whole thing and splits it as a string, and since it can’t find any matches, it outputs it the same way.

PS5, it seems the same exact command but because there’s no way to split on a string, it knows its splitting on each individual character, so it does just that.

8

So it is preferable to stick with the pure PowerShell syntax for your code since you get consistent results in both versions. :man_shrugging:t3: :+1:t3: :love_you_gesture:t3:

9

For this probably. I was simply providing additional context if OP was seeing different results it could be because of PS version with the split method :slight_smile: