Qt - splitting a QString, using several types of whitespace as separators

Question

I'm looking to split a QString. There are several words in the QString, separated by one or more(!) of the following symbols:

whitespace
tab
CR
LF

I'm looking to extract the words only. Basically, I'm trying to replicate the behavior of the Python str.split() function.

I know I can use a regular expression in order to achieve this, but what would it look like? Any other straightforward methods to achieve this are welcome as well.

I have come across this particular regexp, yes. But I am unsure if it covers all the cases. — user129186, Apr 16 '16 at 17:49
It does seem to be enough. Try `QStringList list = str.split(QRegExp("\\s+"), QString::SkipEmptyParts);`. Else, try `\\W+` (`\W` matches non-word characters, and will split in many more cases than `\s`) — Wiktor Stribiżew, Apr 16 '16 at 17:59
Thank you, I will give it a go and see if it is enough for the data I will be running this on. — user129186, Apr 16 '16 at 18:06

score 12 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 16 '16 at 18:45

Note that CR, LF and tab are already whitespace. If you need to match a whitespace you can rely on a shorthand character class \s:

\s Matches a whitespace character (QChar::isSpace()).

So, use then

QStringList list = str.split(QRegExp("\\s+"), QString::SkipEmptyParts);

If you plan to split a string with specific characters, use a character class.

[...] Sets of characters can be represented in square brackets, similar to full regexps. Within the character class, like outside, backslash has no special meaning.

Then, try

QStringList list = str.split(QRegExp("[\r\n\t ]+"), QString::SkipEmptyParts);

You can enlarge the list later when requirements change.

Qt - splitting a QString, using several types of whitespace as separators

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