How To Split A String Only On The First Occurrence Of A Character In Javascript?

In JavaScript, there are many methods available to interact with a string. I will use a few examples with some methods like the split(), slice(), and indexOf() methods to show you I split a string only on the first occurrence of a character in Javascript. Let’s practice with the ways I recommend so that you can find the right way to include them in your program so that it makes the most sense.

How did I split a string only on the first occurrence of a character in Javascript?

Use slice() and indexOf() methods

The slice() and indexOf() methods make it easy to split a string only on the first occurrence of a character in Javascript, but it’s also straightforward to understand.

slice() method

Syntax

string.slice(start, end)

Parameters

  • start: is the starting position of the string you want to cut
  • end: The end position of the string you want to cut

Example

const text = "Hello learnshareit!";
console.log(text.slice(6, 11));

Output

learn

indexOf() method

Syntax

string.indexOf(searchvalue, start)

Parameters

  • searchvalue: The value you want to search for
  • start: is the position to start the search

Example

const text = "Hello learnshareit!";
console.log(text.indexOf("learn"));

Output

6

After we have learned about the above two methods, we will use these two methods to perform split a string only on the first occurrence of a character as follows:

const text = "Learnshareit-Hello-World";

// Split a string only on the first occurrence of a character using slice() and indexOf() methods
const [first, rest] = [
  text.slice(0, text.indexOf("-")),
  text.slice(text.indexOf("-") + 1),
];

console.log(first);
console.log(rest);

Output

Learnshareit
Hello-World

I could separate ‘Learnshareit’ from the original string using slice() and indexOf() methods. I first used slice() to get a string before the ‘-‘ character appeared as ‘Learnshareit’ by cutting the string from the beginning of the string to the position where the ‘-‘ character appeared, then followed by the rest I will cut the string starting from the position after the character ‘-‘ appears to the end of the string, and that’s how we get the above result.

Use the split() method

The split() method makes it possible to Split a string only on the first occurrence of a character very quickly when we pass a reasonably compatible separator as an argument.

Syntax

string.split(separator, limit)

Parameters

  • separator: Usually a string that can be a regular expression used as an indicator to separate the string as we want
  • limit: Is the limit number of elements of the array created after using the split() method

I would use the split() method to Split a string only on the first occurrence of a character like so:

const text = "Learnshareit-Hello-World";

// Split a string only on the first occurrence of a character using the split() method
const result = text.split(/(?<=^[^\-]+)\-/);
console.log(result);

Output

['Learnshareit', 'Hello-World']

You see, I’ve passed a regular expression that makes it possible to split the string with the split() method most accurately, with the first element being the string before the ‘-‘ character appears for the first time and the second is the rest ones.

Summary

Above I showed you two ways we can Split a string only on the first occurrence of a character in Javascript. Although using the slice() and indexOf() methods is a bit more verbose than using the split() method, it is somewhat easier to understand and more accessible. But for those who understand and can use regular expressions fluently, the split() method can be used because it is concise and faster. This article will help you and your program. Good luck.

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