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For 2023 (and 2024 ...) - we are now fully retired from IT training.
We have made many, many friends over 25 years of teaching about Python, Tcl, Perl, PHP, Lua, Java, C and C++ - and MySQL, Linux and Solaris/SunOS too. Our training notes are now very much out of date, but due to upward compatability most of our examples remain operational and even relevant ad you are welcome to make us if them "as seen" and at your own risk.

Lisa and I (Graham) now live in what was our training centre in Melksham - happy to meet with former delegates here - but do check ahead before coming round. We are far from inactive - rather, enjoying the times that we are retired but still healthy enough in mind and body to be active!

I am also active in many other area and still look after a lot of web sites - you can find an index ((here))
Breaking bread

How can I take ONE thing, discard some of it, and end up with MANY things all of the same type as the original? Surely that doesn't make sense does it?

I could take a packet of half a dozen rolls from the supermarket, made (as they often are in the UK) as a single piece of bread with narrow "tear" points, and tear into six pieces. A few crumbs to be thrown away - and there you have it. Six things (of type "piece of bread") where the sum total is actually LESS that the one thing ("piece of bread") that I started with.

This action of breaking bread has a parallel in programming. In Perl (split), Python (split) and PHP (explode, split) amongst others, you can take a single string and break it down into a whole list (Perl, Python) / array (PHP) of smaller strings. You'll often want to do this if you have a string that's a line of data read from a file, and you want to break it down into a series of strings each of which is an individual field.

@pieces = split(/\s+/,$line); # Perl
(written 2006-06-22)

 
Associated topics are indexed as below, or enter http://melksh.am/nnnn for individual articles
Y108 - Python - String Handling
  [324] The backtick operator in Python and Perl - (2005-05-25)
  [463] Splitting the difference - (2005-10-13)
  [496] Python printf - (2005-11-15)
  [560] The fencepost problem - (2006-01-10)
  [903] Pieces of Python - (2006-10-23)
  [943] Matching within multiline strings, and ignoring case in regular expressions - (2006-11-25)
  [954] Splitting Pythons in Bradford - (2006-11-29)
  [970] String duplication - x in Perl, * in Python and Ruby - (2006-12-07)
  [1110] Python - two different splits - (2007-03-15)
  [1195] Regular Express Primer - (2007-05-20)
  [1517] Python - formatting objects - (2008-01-24)
  [1608] Underlining in Perl and Python - the x and * operator in use - (2008-04-12)
  [1876] Python Regular Expressions - (2008-11-08)
  [2284] Strings as collections in Python - (2009-07-12)
  [2406] Pound Sign in Python Program - (2009-09-15)
  [2692] Flexible search and replace in Python - (2010-03-25)
  [2721] Regular Expressions in Python - (2010-04-14)
  [2765] Running operating system commands from your Python program - (2010-05-14)
  [2780] Formatted Printing in Python - (2010-05-25)
  [2814] Python - splitting and joining strings - (2010-06-16)
  [3090] Matching to a string - what if it matches in many possible ways? - (2010-12-17)
  [3218] Matching a license plate or product code - Regular Expressions - (2011-03-28)
  [3349] Formatting output in Python through str.format - (2011-07-07)
  [3468] Python string formatting - the move from % to str.format - (2011-10-08)
  [3469] Teaching dilemma - old tricks and techniques, or recent enhancements? - (2011-10-08)
  [3796] Backquote, backtic, str and repr in Python - conversion object to string - (2012-07-05)
  [3886] Formatting output - why we need to, and first Python example - (2012-10-09)
  [4027] Collections in Python - list tuple dict and string. - (2013-03-04)
  [4152] Why are bus fares so high? - (2013-08-18)
  [4213] Formatting options in Python - (2013-11-16)
  [4307] Identifying and clearing denial of service attacks on your Apache server - (2014-09-27)
  [4360] Python - comparison of old and new string formatters - (2014-12-22)
  [4593] Command line parameter handling in Python via the argparse module - (2015-12-08)
  [4595] Python formatting update - including named completions - (2015-12-10)
  [4659] Prining a pound sign from Python AND running from the command line at the same time - (2016-03-03)

P208 - Perl - Lists
  [28] Perl for breakfast - (2004-08-25)
  [140] Comparison Chart for Perl programmers - list functions - (2004-12-04)
  [230] Course sizes - beware of marketing statistics - (2005-02-27)
  [240] Conventional restraints removed - (2005-03-09)
  [355] Context in Perl - (2005-06-22)
  [622] Queues and barrel rolls in Perl - (2006-02-24)
  [762] Huge data files - what happened earlier? - (2006-06-15)
  [928] C++ and Perl - why did they do it THAT way? - (2006-11-16)
  [968] Perl - a list or a hash? - (2006-12-06)
  [1304] Last elements in a Perl or Python list - (2007-08-16)
  [1316] Filtering and altering Perl lists with grep and map - (2007-08-23)
  [1703] Perl ... adding to a list - end, middle, start - (2008-07-09)
  [1828] Perl - map to process every member of a list (array) - (2008-10-09)
  [1917] Out of memory during array extend - Perl - (2008-12-02)
  [1918] Perl Socket Programming Examples - (2008-12-02)
  [2067] Perl - lists do so much more than arrays - (2009-03-05)
  [2226] Revision / Summary of lists - Perl - (2009-06-10)
  [2295] The dog is not in trouble - (2009-07-17)
  [2484] Finding text and what surrounds it - contextual grep - (2009-10-30)
  [2813] Iterating over a Perl list and changing all items - (2010-06-15)
  [2833] Fresh Perl Teaching Examples - part 2 of 3 - (2010-06-27)
  [2996] Copying - duplicating data, or just adding a name? Perl and Python compared - (2010-10-12)
  [3400] $ is atomic and % and @ are molecular - Perl - (2011-08-20)
  [3548] Dark mornings, dog update, and Python and Lua courses before Christmas - (2011-12-10)
  [3669] Stepping through a list (or an array) in reverse order - (2012-03-23)
  [3870] Writing more maintainable Perl - naming fields from your data records - (2012-09-25)
  [3906] Taking the lead, not the dog, for a walk. - (2012-10-28)
  [3939] Lots of ways of doing the same thing in Perl - list iteration - (2012-12-03)
  [4609] Mapping an array / list without a loop - how to do it in Perl 6 - (2016-01-03)

H106 - PHP - Arrays
  [409] Functions and commands with dangerous names - (2005-08-11)
  [603] PHP - setting sort order with an associative array - (2006-02-13)
  [832] Displaying data at 5 items per line on a web page - (2006-08-14)
  [1116] PHP adding arrays / summing arrays - (2007-03-23)
  [1199] Testing for one of a list of values. - (2007-05-22)
  [1451] More PHP sample and demonstration programs - (2007-12-01)
  [1614] When an array is not an array - (2008-04-17)
  [2215] If nothing, make it nothing. - (2009-06-02)
  [2274] PHP preg functions - examples and comparision - (2009-07-08)
  [2915] Looking up a value by key - associative arrays / Hashes / Dictionaries - (2010-08-11)
  [2920] Sorting - naturally, or into a different order - (2010-08-14)
  [3004] Increment operators for counting - Perl, PHP, C and others - (2010-10-18)
  [3379] Sorting data the way YOU want it sorted - (2011-08-05)
  [3534] Learning to program in PHP - Regular Expression and Associative Array examples - (2011-12-01)
  [4068] Arrays in PHP - contain different and even mixed data types - (2013-04-24)
  [4072] Splitting the difference with PHP - (2013-04-27)
  [4244] Disambiguation - PHP List - (2014-03-07)


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On Crosby sands
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From cat breeder to Cobol to Perl
Splash!
King Edward VII - days of empire
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This is a page archived from The Horse's Mouth at http://www.wellho.net/horse/ - the diary and writings of Graham Ellis. Every attempt was made to provide current information at the time the page was written, but things do move forward in our business - new software releases, price changes, new techniques. Please check back via our main site for current courses, prices, versions, etc - any mention of a price in "The Horse's Mouth" cannot be taken as an offer to supply at that price.

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