java split regex: split string using any text between curly brackets and keep the delimiter

Question

I almost got what I need thanks to another question on here, but not quite.

I am trying to use java's String.split() to break up a string and keep the regex delimiter. My delimiter isn't a single char. Example:

hello {world} this is {stack overflow} and this is my string

needs to break into an array like:

hello

{world}

this is

{stack overflow}

and this is my string

I am able to match all text between { and } using {[^}]+} and split a string using it. But I really need to keep the text between { and } as well.

Is there any particular reason that you want to use `split` for this, rather than `find`? — ruakh, Jun 04 '13 at 00:14

score 9 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 04 '13 at 00:16

Try maybe splitting this way

yourString.split("\\s(?=\\{)|(?<=\\})\\s")

It will split on every space that have { after it, or space that have } before it.

Demo

for (String s : "hello {world} this is {stack overflow} and this is my string"
        .split("\\s(?=\\{)|(?<=\\})\\s")) 
    System.out.println(s);

output

hello
{world}
this is
{stack overflow}
and this is my string

1 Answers1