How to Split a String by Pipe Characters in Java

How can I split a Java string using the pipe character (|) to get separate values?

String rat_values = "Food 1 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 1 ";
String[] value_split = rat_values.split("\| ");

In Java, the String.split() method is commonly used to divide a string into an array based on a specified delimiter. However, when the delimiter is a special character such as the pipe character '|', it must be escaped correctly to avoid unexpected results.

String rat_values = "Food 1 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 1 ";
String[] value_split = rat_values.split("\|\s*"); // Use \| to escape the pipe and \s* to remove spaces
for (String value : value_split) {
    System.out.println(value); // Prints each separated value
}

Causes

• The pipe character '|' is a special regex character that denotes logical OR in regular expressions.
• When using the split method, not escaping the pipe causes the method to interpret it incorrectly, leading to unexpected splits, such as splitting every character in the string.

Solutions

• Use escaped pipe '\|' in the split method to correctly interpret the delimiter as a literal pipe character.
• Consider trimming spaces around each value after splitting for cleaner output.

Mistake: Not escaping the pipe character, leading to incorrect splits.

Solution: Always escape the pipe with a backslash for correct usage.

Mistake: Assuming spaces after pipes will be handled automatically.

Solution: Use regex to trim spaces by using '\|\s*' in the split method.