Java .split() by character with spaces in string

Question

I am trying to read a line from a text file in java. I get a java.lang.ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException: 1 exception.

Here is my code:

try {
    Scanner kb = new Scanner(new FileReader(fileName));
    String line = "";
    int count = 0;
    while (kb.hasNext()) {
        line = kb.next();
        String[] temp = line.split("#");
        System.out.println(temp[1]);
        Wedding tempWed = new Wedding(temp[0], temp[1], temp[2], temp[3], Integer.parseInt(temp[4]));
        test[count] = tempWed;
        count++;
    }
} catch (FileNotFoundException ex) {

}

This is the line in the textfile:
Chiquita Sanford#Magee Sosa#2016-11-05#Garden#84

I need to split by the "#", and this partly works. Java throws the exception when I try to access the element at position 1. I think this is because there is a space between the first name and the surname, because when I System.out.println(temp[0]) it displays "Chiquita" and not "Chiquita Sanford".

Does Java have some restriction on splitting when there are multiple words in the first array index.

Change `kb.next()` to `kb.nextLine()`, and change `kb.hasNext()` to `kb.hasNextLine()`. — Andreas, Oct 19 '17 at 19:14
Better yet, don't use `Scanner`, since it is slow. Use `BufferedReader` and its `readLine()` method instead. — Andreas, Oct 19 '17 at 19:16

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 19 '17 at 19:16

3

You have to use the nextLine method to read the full line. next will read until the first token ("Chiquita" in your case because its followed by a space character and is interpreted as a delimiter). So change this line:

line = kb.next();

with this:

line = kb.nextLine();

answered Oct 19 '17 at 19:16

Juan Carlos Mendoza

5,203
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Thank you! My coffee high has come to a plateau. Knew we were making a silly mistake! – keziakoko Oct 19 '17 at 19:20

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 19 '17 at 19:17

2

You are using kb.next() that will return the next word not the next line, for this use kb.nextLine() similar issue with kb.hasNext() needs to be kb.hasNextLine()

answered Oct 19 '17 at 19:17

Dale

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Java .split() by character with spaces in string

2 Answers2