Python - split strings inside array

Question

I have an array that looks something like this:

arr1 = ["1", "2", "3 4", "5 6 7", "8"]

and I want to, somehow, split the strings with spaces in them turning this array into this:

split_arr1 = ["1", "2", "3", "4", "5", "6", "7", "8"]

Note: The split array does not have to be in order

Thank you!

Answer 1

Iterating the input list and using split:

arr1 = ["1", "2", "3 4", "5 6 7", "8"]
output = []
for item in arr1:
    output.extend(item.split())

print(output)  # ['1', '2', '3', '4', '5', '6', '7', '8']

For each entry in the input list we call extend on some output list (initially empty). This will add each element from splitting e.g. "5 6 7" as a new separate entry in the output list.

Answer 2

You could do this using nested list comprehension:

arr1 = ["1", "2", "3 4", "5 6 7", "8"]

split_arr1 = [split_item for item in arr1 for split_item in item.split()]
# ['1', '2', '3', '4', '5', '6', '7', '8']

Answer 3

A very simple solution:

arr1 = ["1", "2", "3 4", "5 6 7", "8"]

split_arr1 = list("".join(arr1).replace(" ", ""))

Explanation:

1. Join all strings into one string -> "123 45 6 78"
2. Remove any white spaces -> "12345678"
3. Split each character -> ['1', '2', '3', '4', '5', '6', '7', '8']