Python Program to Split joined consecutive similar characters

Difficulty Level : Medium
Last Updated : 27 Mar, 2021

Given a String, our task is to write a Python program to split on the occurrence of a non-similar character.

Input : test_str = ‘ggggffggisssbbbeessssstt’
Output : [‘gggg’, ‘ff’, ‘gg’, ‘i’, ‘sss’, ‘bbb’, ‘ee’, ‘sssss’, ‘tt’]
Explanation : All similar consecutive characters are converted to separate strings.
Input : test_str = ‘ggggffgg’

Output : [‘gggg’, ‘ff’, ‘gg’]
Explanation : All similar consecutive characters are converted to separate strings.

Method #1 : Using join() + list comprehension + groupby()

In this, the characters are grouped on similarity using groupby(), join() is used to reform strings list. List comprehension performs task of iterating constructed groups.

Python3

# Python3 code to demonstrate working of
# Split joined consecutive similar characters
# Using join() + list comprehension + groupby()
from itertools import groupby
  
# initializing string
test_str = 'ggggffggisssbbbeessssstt'
  
# printing original string
print("The original string is : " + str(test_str))
  
# groupby groups the elements, join joining Consecutive groups
res = ["".join(grup) for ele, grup in groupby(test_str)]
        
# printing result
print("Consecutive split string is : " + str(res))

Output:

The original string is : ggggffggisssbbbeessssstt
Consecutive split string is : [‘gggg’, ‘ff’, ‘gg’, ‘i’, ‘sss’, ‘bbb’, ‘ee’, ‘sssss’, ‘tt’]

Method #2 : Using finditer() + regex + list comprehension

In this, regex is used to check for consecutive equal sequences. The finditer() performs the task of finding the matching regex in a string.

Python3

# Python3 code to demonstrate working of
# Split joined consecutive similar characters
# Using finditer() + regex + list comprehension
import re
  
# initializing string
test_str = 'ggggffggisssbbbeessssstt'
  
# printing original string
print("The original string is : " + str(test_str))
  
# list comprehension iterates for all the formed groups found by regex
# if consecutive numbers need to search "d" can be used.
res = [iters.group(0) for iters in re.finditer(r"(\D)\1*", test_str)]
        
# printing result
print("Consecutive split string is : " + str(res))

Output:

The original string is : ggggffggisssbbbeessssstt
Consecutive split string is : [‘gggg’, ‘ff’, ‘gg’, ‘i’, ‘sss’, ‘bbb’, ‘ee’, ‘sssss’, ‘tt’]

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