Interview › Scripting (Bash, Groovy)
How do you split a string on a delimiter in Bash? [Intermediate]
Answer
For simple delimiters, I split a string by setting IFS and using read -r -a for arrays or read -r field1 field2 for named fields. For complex formats like quoted CSV, I use a real parser instead of Bash splitting.
Technical explanation
IFS splitting is good for simple colon-, comma-, or slash-separated strings without escaping rules.
Use a local IFS assignment on the read command to avoid changing global IFS.
Do not use naive Bash splitting for JSON, YAML, or real CSV with quotes; use jq, yq, Python, or a purpose-built parser.
Hands-on example
csv="api,8080,active"
IFS=, read -r name port status <<< "$csv"
echo "$name $port $status"
path="a/b/c"
IFS=/ read -r -a parts <<< "$path"
printf '<%s>\n' "${parts[@]}"Preparing for an interview?
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